Amnesty International Report 1999 - Uruguay

URUGUAY

Two possible extrajudicial executions were reported. hiv-positive detainees were ill-treated because of their medical condition. Human rights violations committed in past years remained unclarified.

In April the UN Human Rights Committee urged the authorities to adopt legislation correcting the effects of the 1986 Expiry Law which grants immunity to all military and police personnel responsible for human rights violations committed between 1973 and 1985 (see previous Amnesty International Reports). The Committee also expressed concern at the failure to incorporate the crime of torture into the penal code and at the practice of pre-trial detention.

Human rights organizations expressed outrage at the appointment as adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in March of a military official alleged to have committed serious human rights violations during past military governments, including the torture of scores of women at the former Punta Rieles Prison in Montevideo, the capital.

The asylum bill proposed by President Julio María Sanguinetti and other members of the executive in 1997 did not come into effect. Concerns remained that the bill weakened the right to asylum and contravened international standards (see Amnesty International Report 1998).

Two men were killed in circumstances suggesting that they were extrajudicially executed. In June Roberto Sandro Cardozo, a civilian prisoner, was shot dead by a military guard patrolling the Santiago Vázquez Prison in the department of Montevideo, reportedly as he was trying to escape. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces justified the action arguing that the prison was in a "military zone" and that the guard "had acted under military regulations". He informed the judge in charge of the investigation that this was a matter for military justice and that those involved in the incident would not appear before a civilian court. The Minister of the Interior stated that the incident would serve as a warning to all "criminals" that the authorities were "serious" about combating crime. The Supreme Court of Justice had not ruled on whether the case should be heard before a civilian or military court by the end of the year.

Also in June, Héctor Mauro Valente Gómez, a taxi driver, was shot dead by a policeman. According to Héctor Valente's father, who was with him at the time, their car was stopped by the police, but Héctor Valente drove off because he was not wearing his seat-belt. However, police officers intercepted them again a few kilometres further on and shot at the car. Héctor Valente reportedly stopped and got out of the car with his hands raised above his head and was shot in the head. A police officer was under investigation, but the case remained open at the end of the year.

Two men were reportedly ill-treated by police officers during detention because they were hiv- positive. In July a man detained by the police in connection with a fight in a bar in Montevideo was beaten after informing officers that he was hiv-positive. He was released without charge the following day. In September another man detained by the police was subjected to death threats and verbal abuse when he informed them of his medical condition. Both incidents were reported to the authorities. However, by the end of the year those responsible had not been brought to justice.

In February the Supreme Court of Justice rejected the case brought by Sara Méndez challenging the adoption of a boy she believed to be her "disappeared" son, Simón Riquelo (see Amnesty International Report 1996).

In November the case of Eugenio Berríos, a former Chilean military agent who "disappeared" in 1992, was provisionally shelved, subject to new evidence coming to light (see previous Amnesty International Reports).

Members of the security forces accused of human rights violations committed during past military governments were not brought to justice (see previous Amnesty International Reports).

In May Amnesty International reiterated calls on the authorities to ensure full and independent investigations into human rights violations committed under past military governments and to bring those responsible to justice.