CRPD/C/11/D/8/2012
4.2
With regard to the events that led to the author’s imprisonment, the State party notes
that the author was an officer of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police during the dictatorship
of 1976–1983. On 14 April 2011, the Federal Criminal Court sentenced the author to life
imprisonment and absolute, lifelong disqualification for the offences of unlawful entry,
unlawful deprivation of liberated as a consequence of aggravated abuse of power,
aggravated torture and doubly aggravated murder. At the time that the State party submitted
its observations, the sentence was being appealed before the National Chamber of the
Criminal Court of Cassation. The author’s conviction should be viewed within the context
of the quest for remembrance, truth and justice and the associated effort to identify,
prosecute and punish those responsible for serious crimes committed during the
dictatorship.
4.3
The author has not exhausted all domestic remedies in connection with the
complaints that he has brought before the Committee, since the avenue he chose was
inappropriate for the reparation of the alleged violations. Furthermore, he alleges violations
of the Convention without proof that any domestic administrative and/or legal action has
been taken to seek reparation. His application for house arrest was considered by the
Federal Criminal Court and the Federal Chamber and was rejected by the latter because he
failed to meet the legal conditions for house arrest. The author could have lodged a special
federal appeal before the Supreme Court. However, he preferred to turn directly to the
Committee even while admitting that he has not exhausted all domestic remedies. Act No.
48, article 14, stipulates that one of the prerequisites for a special appeal is that the matter
should be subject to federal jurisdiction, with one example being infringement of articles of
the Constitution or of a treaty such as the Convention. Accordingly, the failure to lodge
such an appeal means that domestic remedies have not been exhausted. The author’s
allegations that proceedings have been unreasonably prolonged are groundless. In fact, he
does not even mention the subsequent proceedings during which his application for house
arrest was considered. Moreover, the author did not file any complaint before an Argentine
court alleging unduly prolonged proceedings. His application was fully considered by the
relevant courts, and due process was observed.
4.4
The author’s allegations are generic and lack specifics and have not been
substantiated. The judicial authorities responded to the applications submitted by the author
regarding the medical treatments that he needed and his detention and living conditions on
numerous occasions.
4.5
The State party presents an account of the facts of the case and points out that the
Federal Chamber rejected the author’s appeal on 13 July 2012. Nevertheless, it explicitly
set out the Federal Criminal Court’s obligations: namely, that, as a matter of urgency, it
should take all necessary measures regarding his medical rehabilitation and access to basic
sanitary facilities in his place of detention. Pursuant to this decision, on 18 July 2012, the
Federal Criminal Court ordered Ezeiza Prison to adopt a number of measures, such as the
submission of monthly reports on the author’s state of health and rehabilitation and the
provision of 24-hour nursing assistance.
4.6
The Federal Chamber ordered the Federal Criminal Court to conduct a new medical
examination with a view to giving due consideration to the author’s application for house
arrest. The Department of Forensic Medicine conducted this examination, which then
served as the basis for the Federal Criminal Court’s decision of 29 December 2011 to reject
the author’s application. The judicial authorities were not unreceptive to the author’s
allegations; on the contrary, the Federal Chamber upheld his appeal against the Federal
Criminal Court’s decision of 15 August 2011.
4.7
The State party comments on the discrepancies between the medical opinion of the
Department of Forensic Medicine and the expert opinion submitted by the author during the
proceedings in the nation’s courts. It points out that, according to the former, the author
GE.14-05593
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