The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IDH) condemned Brazil, on January 23, for non-compliance with fundamental guarantees to which it is a signatory. The country must pay compensation of US$10,000 (around R$53,000) to Chilean terrorist Mauricio Hernández Norambuena for subjecting him to “cruel” and “degrading” treatment, according to information from journalist Josmar Jozino, from UOL.
The sentence punishes the Brazilian State for keeping the kidnapper of publicist Washington Olivetto in the Differentiated Disciplinary Regime (RDD) between 2002 and 2006. According to the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, the RDD did not yet have regulations at the time.
In its judgment, the Inter-American Court recognized that maximum security regimes are not, in themselves, incompatible with the Convention on Human Rights, as long as they respect strict criteria of legality, exceptionality, proportionality, limited duration and judicial control. However, it was concluded that these parameters were disrespected in this case.
The imprisoned detainee remained in isolation and with limited sunbathing for more than four years and, after passing through several Brazilian prisons, was extradited in 2019 to his country of origin.
Sequels
In Chile, damage to the convict’s physical and mental health resulting from isolation and incommunicado was found, according to the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU), which represented the Chilean. According to the defense, Norambuena developed hypertension, vertigo, tremors, anxiety and depression, in addition to a tumor in his throat.
The Court also highlighted that, at the time of the events, there was no sufficient legal basis to ensure predictability and adequate limits to the imposition of the regime. As reparation, it was determined that Brazil pay compensation for non-pecuniary damages, bear the costs of the process and return amounts to the Legal Assistance Fund for Victims of the Court.
In 1994, Hernández Norambuena had been sentenced to life in prison in Chile for the murder of senator Jaime Guzmán Errázuriz and fled to Brazil in 1996. In the same year, he received a new life sentence for the crimes of terrorist association and the kidnapping of Cristian Edwards del Río, according to the Efe agency.
Norambueno would be the mentor of the number one of the criminal faction Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcola. The two met within the Brazilian prison system.
