The CoIDH will resolve the Case “GARCÍA RODRÍGUEZ ET AL. VS. MÉXICO”, by virtue of which the presumed victims Daniel García Rodríguez and Reyes Alpízar Ortiz were arrested on February 25 and October 25, 2002, respectively, for the murder of the councilor of Atizapán de Zaragoza, State of Mexico, on the past 5 September 2001, and remained in preventive detention for around 17 years, until August 23, 2019.
In this sense, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (“IACHR”) presented said case before the CoIDH, on May 6, 2021, because in the criminal process of the alleged victims, they would have been tortured, in addition to the fact that violations were presented. to due process, to the principle of presumption of innocence, to the right of defense, and to personal liberty.
The IACHR in its Merits Report, among others, concluded that a) the Mexican State would be internationally responsible for the violation of the rights established in articles 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 8.1, 8.2 , 8.3 and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights, in relation to its article 1.1, as well as article 2 regarding the application of the figure of arraigo and preventive detention, and b) the Mexican State would have violated articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
In this sense, through the public hearing of August 26, 2022, the IACtHR discussed the case, where it was analyzed whether or not the informal preventive detention in Mexico violates human rights, as well as the need to eliminate it from the Federal Constitution.
In her intervention, the Commissioner of the IACHR pointed out that: (i) the victims suffered arbitrary detention -in violation of the principle of innocence-, (ii) in the different case “Montesinos vs. Ecuador”, that Court would have already resolved the unconventionality of a figure that authorizes arrests based on the seriousness of the crime and presumed responsibility of the persons -because it implies an arbitrary detention contrary to the presumption of innocence-, and (iii) it would be important that the IACtHR expressly indicates through its sentence, that the constitutional restrictions cannot prevail over the American Convention -nor the interpretations of said Court if they are more protective-.
For his part, the representative of the Mexican State pointed out that the figure of the arraigo remains as a reminiscence in the Constitution for certain cases, added to the fact that to date there are 2 draft sentences in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (“SCJN”) that address the unconventionality of the informal preventive detention established, among others, in article 19 of the Constitution -namely, (i) the amparo under review 355/2021, and (ii) the unconstitutionality action 130/2019 and its accumulated 136/ 2019, which are listed for discussion and resolution in the coming days, in the Plenary of the SCJN-.
Dr. José Ramón Cossío -Retired Minister of the SCJN- was also present at said hearing as an expert, in whose speech he stated that, although justified pretrial detention is feasible in Mexico, unofficial pretrial detention is not, in addition to that, in the event that informal pre-trial detention is eliminated, the State would still have sufficient elements to order such a measure if it deems it necessary - depending on the case.
To date, the phase of final arguments is pending, and the issuance of the corresponding sentence. We will keep you informed.
For more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEYQx7esidI
