Internal judicial negligence in the case of the brothers Landaeta Mejías v. Venezuela recorded in evidence before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

San José, Thrusday, February 6, 2014. This Thursday concluded the public hearing of the case brothers Landaeta Mejías v. Venezuela before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IA Court), in which the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Human Rights Commission for Justice and Peace from the State of Aragua (Comisión de Derechos Humanos de Justicia y Paz del Estado Aragua), and the Episcopal Vicar of Human Rights of Caracas (Vicaría Episcopal de Derechos Humanos de Caracas) asked to establish the international responsibility of the State of Venezuela for the extrajudicial executions of Igmar Alexander and Eduardo José Landaeta.

The Landaeta brothers, one of them a minor at the time of his death, were extrajudicially executed in 1996, over a month time lapse. The killings occurred in two episodes in which police agents from the state of Aragua participated.

Before these episodes, the family was threatened and harassed by state police agents. After that, there was a judicial process riddled with unjustified delays and negligence, for which both executions continue to remain in impunity after 17 years.

The Commissioner and Relator for the Rights of Children of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, Rosa María Ortíz, noted at the beginning of the hearing that this is not the first time that the IA Court has been called to analyze a case that has to do with this situation in Venezuela. In recent years, the IA Court pronounced sentences in the Familia Barrios case and the Case of the Uzcátegui brothers, cases represented by both CEJIL and COFAVIC.

“In the hearing the District Attorney in charge of the case for the death of the child, Eduardo José Landaeta, recognized the negligence throughout the entire internal process. Because of that, we, the organizations in defense of the victims ask the ruling IA Court to reopen the investigations as soon as possible,” stressed Francisco Quintana, CEJIL’s Program Director for the Andean, North America, and Caribbean Region.

Luis Aguilera from the Human Rights Commission of Justice and Peace from the State of Aragua affirmed that, “after 17 years arguing this case, Mr. Ignacio Landaeta was finally heard by a tribunal in his search for justice and truth for his sons’ case. But this does not end here; Mr. Landaeta will continue his fight before the Venezuelan courts.”

The petitioning organizations ask the Inter-American Court to seek justice, award integral reparation to the victims and perform the required investigations that will contribute to ending these types of situations in the state of Aragua, as well as in other parts of Venezuela.

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Daniela Araya

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