IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Issues Protection Measures in Favor of Bayron José Corea Estrada and His Family in Nicaragua
December 27, 2019
Washington, D.C. - On December 24, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 61/2019, granting precautionary protection measures in favor of Bayron José Corea Estrada and his nuclear family, in Nicaragua, whom it deems to be at serious, urgent risk of suffering irreparable harm to their human rights.
According to the petition, both the beneficiary and his family were allegedly being subjected to harassment, death threats, and acts of violence involving state agents, presumably as a result of their involvement in the protests in the country that began in April 2018. This harassment has become more marked since he was released from prison in August 2018. The petitioners alleged that police officers and armed third parties have been continually harassing the beneficiaries and attempting to enter his home and the homes of relatives, as a result of which the beneficiary is now in hiding at a relative’s home.
In making its decision, the IACHR assessed the allegations that the perpetrators of these events were allegedly state agents, along with private individuals whose actions the police force are complicit with. In accordance with Article 25(5) of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR requested information from the state on November 18, 2019, and to date, no response has been received.
Consequently, in accordance with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR requested that the state of Nicaragua adopt the necessary measures to protect the life and integrity of Bayron José Corea Estrada and the members of his family, that it ensure that state agents respect the life and personal integrity of the beneficiaries in accordance with the standards established by international human rights law, such as protecting their rights in relation to acts carried out by third parties that put them in jeopardy; that it determine the measures to be implemented in consultation with the beneficiaries and their representatives; and that it report on the actions it takes to investigate events and prevent them from being repeated.
The fact that this precautionary measure has been granted and its adoption by the state does not entail a prejudgment on any petition that may eventually be filed before the inter-American system to allege that the rights protected by the American Convention and other applicable instruments have been violated.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 342/19