PROTEST CASES disappearances perpetrated by THE GOVERNMENT OF PERU Rafael Castillo-Paez
born June 3, 1968 in Lima. He studied sociology at the university's Lima Catholic and was part of their studies to do some research practices in the surrounding towns of Lima called "young towns" or "settlements" inhabited mostly low-income people considered poor.
a Sunday October 21, 1990, a few months after the city installed the government of Kenya Fujimori from Japan, was the district of Villa El Salvador to perform one of these investigations and the average morning the people of that district was invaded by the police in an operation aimed at countering a public march in downtown of this district, carried out by subversive elements belonging to Sendero Luminoso.
When Ernesto was passing a street away from the place of the march, approached a police car called "patrol" policemen fell and one of them went to Ernesto pointing his gun who ordered him to stop swearing, Ernesto order served, they asked their personal documents, cornered him against the side of the patrol car, he searched his clothes, stripped off his glasses and without any reason ordered him to be introduced in the trunk of the vehicle which then left with unknown address. (Extracted version statements of the eyewitnesses who saw his arrest just two meters away).
Corner district of Villa El Salvador where he was arrested Ernesto.
From that moment on he never knew. And even now we do not know what happened to him or where he is, but being government policy after Garcia and Fujimori's arrest, torture, murder and disappearance of people that they were suspected of belonging to subversive groups, we deduce that the same fate befell our dear son Ernesto.
- Search, reporting and prosecution
I do not want to remember those tragic moments in a cruel and excruciating uncertainty of a painful transition from him to imagine the time and provide you with all the support staff and equipment and especially to know alive and do everything possible to defend it, to be declining with the passage of the days when the negative penitents police authorities all attempts to reconnect to the rejection of the idea that Ernest never be among us that Over time what we would impose.
After three days of fruitless search immediately resort to the judiciary reported missing through a writ of habeas corpus filed before Judge Dr. Greta Minaya Calle, accused as being responsible for:
Gral EP Adolfo Alvarado Fournier, Minister of Interior-PG
PNP Gen. Victor Manuel Alva Plascencia, Chief of Police National and PNP General
Oblitas Enrique Jaén, Chief Dircote.
Adolfo Alvarado Fournier
As for ourselves we are dedicated to explore the district of Villa El Salvador where he went that fateful day trying to locate a recent photograph of him in hand the place where he was arrested, asking house to house if they had seen until the second day, we finally find the place by confirming several neighbors who saw his arrest by the police who came down from an official vehicle.
For his part Judge Minaya investigatory management developed a tireless visiting several police stations in the area where the raid occurred as the police headquarters in Lima, also questioning the authorities concerned in the habeas corpus and finally collecting the testimonies of eyewitnesses who saw the arrest of Ernesto.
The result was that important elements of indices found evidence of the capture of Ernesto by police personnel who participated in this operation, despite the persistent refusal to acknowledge it, thereby firmly underpinned its decision to order the government authorities that Ernesto is put immediately released.
The government appealed to the appeal, the Eighth Criminal Court of Lima, who after hearing the arguments of the defense and the government decided to support the favorable decision of Judge Minaya, which meant that the Minister of Interior, EP Gen. Adolfo Alvarado Fournier was charged constitutionally by Congress, responsible for the crime against humanity "Forced Disappearance."
This statement been favorably discussed by major newspapers in Lima and exhibited as a laudable example of action of justice in defense of the law, and human rights. "This is a term for the first time in our time a court of law, order the prosecution of a Minister of State and senior police chiefs for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of student Ernesto Castillo Páez ..." (daily La República, pg. 23 of January 2, 1991).
course this did not please the government, was forced to manipulate the process for which, based on his power, sought at the highest level of the judiciary, judges never missing corrupt and illegal fabricated a complaint appeal to the Supreme Court will finally decide the final sentence. And how could it be otherwise, habeas corpus declared unfair and a sign of its power to deter our defense attorney, Dr. Augusto Zúñiga Paz, handed him an envelope supplanting its origin, containing explosives, which when ajar the envelope exploded loudly and amputated part of his left arm (March 15, 1991)
The process refers to the 14th Criminal Court of Lima, presided by Judge Luis Vargas Valdivia with the evident purpose of the process dilates as long as possible and end up being shelved. Event occurring with Case August 19, 1992 exonerating the accused, not to punish anyone and ordering that the prosecution "to identifying the real perpetrators."
The process continued as if just extra pace began to slow, with no success whatsoever with respect to the perpetrators of the crime, rather in the way exonerating the police were out in the lower levels by the First Criminal Chamber of the Court Lima Senior in its resolution of October 31, 1995.
Importantly, as part of our efforts to obtain justice is able to coordinate a sector of the Chamber of Deputies to terminated members of the Supreme Court that allowed our habeas declared corpus based on two instances, resumes contrary to the laws established and will open an impeachment for various crimes to be the main "against official duties and professional duties in the form of malfeasance"
On 15 December 1991 appointed a Commission advised in the impeachment, consisting of five members, which ended its work after issuing two opinions: one of adversarial majority (four members) and the other opting for the irrelevance of impeachment, signed by the APRA representative Genaro Castro Vélez. But all did not advance because the April 5, 1992 coup occurred Fujimori and the Armed Forces and settled in Peru, a dictatorship that lasted until 2000.
- Our demand is met by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)
12 and November 13, 1990 on the advice of the Andean Commission of Jurists, Lima (CAJ) drafted the complaint report Ernesto's disappearance for submission to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS (Organization of American States). The Commission maintained a constant monitoring of the judicial process in Peru and when the Peruvian government terminated the process without condemning anyone, filing the case in this way, he was asked this Commission raises its request through our petition to the IACHR, which occurred on January 13, 1995.
On 6 and 7 February 1997 the Commission held a public hearing on the merits of the case and in the presence and participation of persons nominated by the applicants, mainly two of the four witnesses and Dr. Greta Minaya and the Peruvian government officials, a certain Mario Cavagnaro Basile, expect a reasonable time pending the content of his sentence.
03 November 1997, the Commission issued its decision, ruling unanimously that the Peruvian government (under the rule of dictator Fujimori) violated Ernesto Rafael Castillo Paez the following rights recognized by the American Convention on Human Rights:
1. And personal liberty
2. A personal integrity
3. A life
4. To an effective remedy before judges or competent national tribunals
And therefore, unanimously, that:
5. The State of Peru is obliged to repair the consequences of those violations and compensate the families of the victims ....
09 June 1998 the Commission conducted a public hearing to hear arguments from the parties on the compensation and expenses in this case. Issues its final ruling on 27 November 1998.
In this one stands out in paragraph 2, reads: "That the State of Peru should investigate the facts of this case, identify and punish those responsible and take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with this obligation"
also on page 33, paragraph 103, reiterates the provisions of the Judgement of November 3, 1997, page 24, paragraph 90:
"In connection with violations of the American Convention mentioned above, the Court considers that the Peruvian State is obliged to investigate the events that occurred . Even in the event that internal difficulties prevent the identification of individuals responsible for crimes of this nature, remains the right of relatives of the victims to know the fate of this and if so where are his remains. Therefore incumbent on the State to satisfy these reasonable expectations for the means at their disposal. In this duty to investigate, there is the desire to prevent the commission of enforced disappearances and to punish those responsible for them. SUCH OBLIGATIONS IN CHARGE OF PERU be maintained until full compliance ... .. "
- Enforcement of the Judgement of the Commission in Peru
Fujimori's government ignored compliance and only when fled Peru during the government replaced the interim, Dr. Paniagua is reactivated criminal proceedings against all officers involved in the operation and his boss Crnl.PNP (r) Juan Carlos Mejia Leon.
The charge: Colonel Juan Carlos Mejia Leon
Restarting the judicial process (December 28, 2000) meant for us again a never-ending torture. Stand the slowness and unwillingness of prosecutors and judges after solving a case on which earlier acted as judges, with a quicker under new circumstances somehow policies that promised a positive change in the administration of justice, raised the most of our powerlessness.
Thanks to the persistent action of our lawyers and our personal intervention during the periods returned from Holland where he resided, to prosecutors and then the judges, and also by the circulation of some newspapers, as recently as July 21, 2005 enters its final phase by the National Criminal Court, headed by Dr. Pablo Talavera Elguera vocal.
- public oral trial accused police officers to the National Criminal Court
Sixteen members of the National Police (fifteen junior and a colonel) were accused of involvement in the crime of forced disappearance of Ernesto Rafael Castillo college student Páez. This process took about eight months, until March 20, 2006 when he was sentencing.
One of the most important stages of the trial was hearing in which the two witnesses who saw closely the arrest of Ernesto (2 meters approximately) recognized from the accused policemen, who arrested the 15 however Ernesto years, with absolute certainty the officer Juan Fernando Aragón Guibovich.
The sentence for 15 years the policemen who drove the vehicle from which lowered the arresting officer. These are:
Juan Fernando Aragón Guibovich Arotuma
Manuel Valdivia Santiago and Carlos Manuel Depaz
Briones. And
16, Colonel (r) Juan Carlos Mejia Leon, the officer who led the police operation in arresting Ernesto.
After the sentencing sentenced as both the prosecutor and our defense and this increased the appeal to the Supreme Court, more specifically, the First Criminal Chamber, which after review and study and listen to the parties who appealed, would issue the final verdict.
- The sad role of some members of the First Criminal Chamber and its management
delaying the hearings of law before this court consists of five members, issued its first ruling on 18 December 2007, unanimously upholding the sentence to three junior officers, but divided on the penalty to the principal accused, Colonel (r) Juan Carlos Mejia Leon: The Supreme Court justices Roca Raul Valdez, Hugo Antonio Molina and Guillermo Ordóñez Vinatea Medina, ratified his conviction, while Hurtado and Lecaros Sivina Cornejo turned his vote acquittal.
This led to the Board has to call a new member casting to decide this end of the sentence, and that a statement be declared firm requires the approval of four members. The Board convened the vocal Robinson González, a judge known for his questionable decisions in favor of the release of persons accused of crimes in support of the dictatorial regime fujimontesinista.
Asked Supreme Vocal Robinson Gonzales voted to impunity
Indeed, this suspicion was realized with a vote of support for the position of the acquittal of Mejía, 22 May 2008, resulting in a tie 3 votes for both positions. It was therefore necessary to appoint a second and final casting voice that fell on the person of Mr. Carlos Zecenarro Mateus.
Book Carlos Rivera, a lawyer for the family of Ernesto, which identifies the most important aspects of the sentence.
This voice vote demonstrated the true vocation of those who join its role to the vital task of administering justice in accordance with the guidelines governing the law and reason. And your vote could only be to ratify the sentence given the primary responsibility for the forced disappearance of Ernesto Rafael Castillo Paez student. Accordingly, the Judgement issued by the National Criminal Court was ratified in its entirety by the First Criminal Chamber in its resolution of June 30, 2008 issued on August 14, 2008.
FINAL NOTE: on the case, Cromwell Castillo, Ernesto's father wrote a book with all the details about his disappearance to the issuance of judgments by the Inter-DD. HH. Its title: "Where is Ernesto?
