IACHR takes to Inter-American Court case concerning Ecuador about false imprisonment, extrajudicial killing, and torture

January 1, 2026

Washington, DC—The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed on November 19, 2025, an application before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 12,764, with regard to Ecuador. This case stems from a petition that was submitted to the IACHR in March 2005. It concerns the arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killing of Juan Carlos Jaguaco Asimbaya in Quito in March 2001, at the hands of police officers, as well as the impunity in which these events have been shrouded since.

The victim was arrested by police officers on March 24, 2001, without a court warrant and without having been caught in the act. This arrest was not adequately recorded nor reported to the authorities of competent jurisdiction, and there no formal complaint had been filed about the crime that had allegedly been committed. Jaguaco Asimbaya’s body was found two days later, with signs of torture. Although investigations were launched by both ordinary criminal justice and the police, the case was eventually assigned to the police. The police officers suspected with having been involved in these events were cleared, which led to impunity.

The IACHR conducted a detailed analysis of the circumstances in which Jaguaco Asimbaya was arrested and noted many inconsistencies in the official account. In Merits Report 99/22, the IACHR noted that there were no adequate records of the arrest or of the require notification for the authorities of competent jurisdiction, and that there was also no evidence of the robbery that had allegedly led the police to intervene in the first place. The IACHR also noted irregularities in the police report and a lack of objective data that might have justified the victim’s deprivation of liberty, as well as the fact that the man had not been taken before a court of competent jurisdiction.

Concerning the victim’s death, the IACHR stressed that the last time Jaguaco Asimbaya had been seen alive he had been in police custody, and that his body had been found days later with signs of torture and serious injuries. The IACHR said that the State had failed to provide a coherent, convincing explanation about what might have happened while the victim was in State custody. The IACHR also looked into the relevant investigations and concluded that the facts that the police had been charged with investigating these events, that effective procedures had been omitted, and that the police officers allegedly involved in the case had all been cleared prevented moves to establish what had happened and to determine who had been responsible for it, which led to impunity in this case.

The IACHR therefore concluded that the State of Ecuador was liable for violations of the rights to life, personal integrity, personal liberty, judicial guarantees, and judicial protection held in Articles 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 8.1, and 25.1 of the American Convention on Human Rights, in keeping with the obligations held in Articles 1.1 and 2 of that instrument. The IACHR also concluded that the State of Ecuador was liable for violations of the rights held in Articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.

The IACHR therefore asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to demand that the State take the following measures:

1. Provide comprehensive reparations to Jaguaco Asimbaya’s family for the rights violations mentioned in the report, including financial and other compensation for material and immaterial damage, in agreement with them
2. Provide physical and mental healthcare to the victim’s family, should they want such healthcare, in agreement with them and their representatives
3. Conduct a full and effective investigation into the events mentioned in the report, with a view to establishing who was responsible for them
4. Adopt guarantees of non-recurrence, including continuing education for police officers concerning the use of force, effective accountability mechanisms, and strengthened investigative capacity based on the applicable international standards

The IACHR is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 002/26

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