2.5 Mrs. Saldías de López states that the case has
not been submitted to any other procedure of interna
tional investigation or settlement.
2.6 She also claims that the limited number of
domestic remedies which can be invoked in Uruguay
under the "prompt security measures" have been
exhausted and she also refers in this connection to an
unsuccessful resort to amparo by the mother of the
victim in Argentina.
2.7 She has also furnished a copy of a letter from
the Austrian Consulate in Montevideo, Uruguay, men
tioning that the Austrian Government has granted a visa
to Mr. López Burgos and that this information has been
communicated to the Uruguay Ministry of Foreign Af
fairs.
2.8 She alleges that the foUowing articles of the
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have been
violated by the Uruguayan authorities in respect of her
husband: articles 7, 9 and 12 (1) and article 14 (3).
Mr. López Burgos is being held at Military Detention
Establishment No. 1. The Government of Uruguay also
brings to the attention of the Committee a report on a
medical examination of Mr. López Burgos, stating in
part as follows:
Medical history prior to imprisonment (Antecedentes personales
anteriores a su "reclusión"): operated on for bilateral inguinal hernia
at the age of 12; (2) history of unstable arterial hypertension; (3) frac
ture of lower left jaw.
Family medical history: (1) father a diabetic.
Medical record in prison (Antecedentes de "reclusión"): treated by
the dental surgery service of the Armed Forces Central Hospital for
the fracture of the jaw with which he entered the Establishment.
Discharged from the Armed Forces Central Hospital on 7 May 1977
with the fracture knitted and progressing well; subsequently examined
for polyps of larynx on left vocal cord; a biopsy conducted . . . .
5. In a further letter dated 4 March 1980 the author,
Deha Saldías de López, refers to the Human Rights
Committee's decision of 7 August 1979 and to the note
of the Government of Uruguay dated 14 December
1979, and claims that the latter confirmed the author's
previous statement concerning the exhaustion of all
possible domestic remedies.
3. By its decision of 7 August 1979 the Human
Rights Committee:
(1) Decided that the author was justified in acting
on behalf of the alleged victim;
(2) Transmitted the communication under rule 91 of
the provisional rules of procedure to the State party
concerned, requesting information and observations
relevant to the question of admissibility of the com
munication indicating that if the State party contended
that domestic remedies had not been exhausted, it
should give details of the effective remedies available to
the alleged victim in the particular circumstances of his
case.
6. In the absence of any information contrary to the
author's statement that the same matter had not been
submitted to another procedure of international in
vestigation or settlement and concluding, on the basis of
the information before it, that there were no unex
hausted domestic remedies which could or should have
been pursued, the Committee decided on 24 March
1980:
(1) That the communication was admissible in so far
as it relates to events which have allegedly continued or
taken place after 23 March 1976 (the date of the entry
into force of the Covenant and the Optional Protocol
for Uruguay):
(2) That, in accordance with article 4 (2) of the Op
tional Protocol, the State party be requested to submit
to the Committee, within six months of the date of the
transmittal to it of this decision, written explanations or
statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any,
that may have been taken by it;
(3) That the State party be informed that the written
explanations or statements submitted by it under article
4 (2) of the Optional Protocol must primarily relate to
the substance of the matter under consideration, and in
particular the specific violations of the Covenant alleged
to have occurred. The State party is requested, in this
connection, to give information as to the whereabouts
of López Burgos between July and October 1976 and as
to the circumstances in which he suffered a broken jaw
and to enclose copies of any court orders or decisions of
relevance to the matter under consideration.
4. The State party, in its response under rule 91 of
the provisional rules of procedure, dated 14 December
1979, states "that the communication concerned is com
pletely devoid of any grounds which would make it ad
missible by the Committee since, in the course of the
proceedings taken against Mr. López Burgos he enjoyed
ah the guarantees afforded by the Uruguayan legal
order". The State party refers in this connection to its
previous submissions to the Committee in other cases
citing the domestic remedies generally available at
present in Uruguay. Furthermore the State party pro
vides some factual evidence in the case as follows: Mr.
López Burgos was arrested on 23 October 1976 for his
connection with subversive activities and detained under
prompt security measures; on 4 November 1976, the se
cond military examining magistrate charged him with
presumed commission of the offence of "subversive
association" under section 60 (V) of the Military Penal
Code; on 8 March 1979, the court of first instance
sentenced him to seven years' imprisonment for the of
fences specified in section 60 (V) of the MOitary Penal
Code, section 60 (I) (6) in association with 60 (XII) of
the Müitary Penal Code and sections 7, 243 and 54 of
the Ordinary Penal Code; subsequently, on 4 October
1979, the Supreme MUitary Court rendered final judge
ment, reducing his sentence to four years and six
months. It is further stated that Mr. López Burgos'
defence counsel was Colonel Mario Rodriguez and that
7.1 In its submission under article 4 (2) of the Op
tional Protocol, dated 20 October 1980, the State party
asserts that Mr. López Burgos had legal assistance at all
times and that he lodged an appeal; the result of the ap
peal was a sentence at second instance that reduced the
penalty of seven years to four years and six months of
rigorous imprisonment. The State party also rejects the
allegation that López Burgos was denied the right to
89
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