ECUADOR

CASE N° EC/02 - Jaime Hurtado González
CASE N° EC/03 - Pablo Vicente Tapia Farinango

Resolution adopted without a vote by the Inter-Parliamentary Council
at its 165th session (Berlin, 16 October 1999)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Having before it the case of Mr. Jaime Ricaurte Hurtado González and Mr. Pablo Vicente Tapia Farinango, a member and substitute member, respectively, of the National Congress of Ecuador, both belonging to the opposition Movimiento Popular Democrático (MPD), which has been the subject of a study and report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians in accordance with the "Procedure for the examination and treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of communications concerning violations of human rights of parliamentarians",

Taking note of the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/165/12(b)-R.1), which contains a detailed outline of the case,

Taking account of the information and observations supplied by a member of the Ecuadorian delegation to the 102nd IPU Conference,

Considering the following facts on file as they appear from the police reports conveyed by the authorities and the sources, and from the report of the Special Commission of Inquiry set up to establish the truth in this case:

• Mr. Jaime Hurtado and Mr. Pablo Vicente Tapia, both belonging to the opposition Movimiento Popular Democrático, and Mr. Wellington Borja Nazareno, a legislative services assistant working with the National Congress, were shot dead on 17 February 1999 in broad daylight shortly after leaving the morning plenary sitting of the National Congress. According to the source, the killers left the scene of the crime with astonishing calm, given that the killing took place in an area permanently patrolled by police officers, since it comprises offices of the legislature and judiciary, the Labour Ministry, the Land Registry and the National Police. Moreover, the crime took place opposite an emergency assistance post of the National Police which had reportedly been temporarily closed in the days immediately preceding the crime.
• According to the findings of the preliminary investigations carried out by sections of the Pichincha Criminal Police, the person who fired the shots that killed the MPs concerned was a Colombian national, Victorino, abetted by two other Colombians, all managing to escape. Also implicated were Washington Fernando Aguirre and three other Ecuadorian nationals, one of whom, Michael Stalin Oña, was subsequently shot dead by the police in obscure circumstances, according to the source. The report concludes that the motive for the killing was Jaime Hurtado's links with the Colombian guerrilla movement and his intention to set up a guerrilla in Ecuador, an assertion based on the version of events given by the main defendant, Washington Aguirre, who is currently in detention.
• By Executive Decree N° 635 of 25 February 1999, the Government set up a Special Commission of Inquiry (SCI) in an effort to establish the true facts of the case. On 20 April 1999, the Commission issued a public information bulletin setting out the contradictions it had found in the police report, which it described as "fabricated, incomplete and contradictory". It rejected as unsubstantiated the police version of the facts that those who planned the killings belonged to Colombian paramilitary squads.
• he SCI claims to have encountered a series of obstacles from various State organs making its task extremely difficult. In particular it had great difficulty in obtaining permission to meet Washington Aguirre, the key witness, in prison and it was not allowed to conduct the interview in private, a hooded member of the police special branch being stationed a few feet away. Mr. Aguirre's chief concern was to secure protection for himself and his family since he had received threats that made him fear for all of their lives.
• On 19 February 1999, the Judge of the Second Criminal Court of Pichincha ordered proceedings to be opened but subsequently, on 5 April 1999, referred the case to the President of the District High Court, who issued an order on 25 May 1999 staying criminal proceedings against the perpetrators of that crime. On 6 July 1999, the President of the Supreme Court issued an order to stay proceedings in this criminal case, transferring jurisdiction with immediate effect to the President of Quito High Court and stating, with regard to one of the persons accused by the families of Mr. Hurtado and Mr. Borja Narazeno, General Villarroel, Chief of the Police, that he should be subject to police jurisdiction and not to that of the ordinary criminal courts.
• Eight months after the murder, no judge has as yet been assigned to the case and reportedly not even a tenth of the formalities of the pre-trial proceedings have been dealt with, so that the SCI expressed the fear that, should the present state of affairs persist, this would pose a serious threat to the normal conduct of the case and the subsequent bringing to justice of the perpetrators.

Considering that, according to information supplied by the Vice-President of the Congressional Human Rights Committee, Parliament has set up a committee to monitor the proceedings in this case,

Considering finally that, in view of its concerns, the SCI expressed the wish that the Inter-Parliamentary Union should explore the possibility of sending a mission to the country; that, according to a member of the Ecuadorian delegation, the Government would agree to such a mission,

1. Is deeply shocked at the murder of Mr. Hurtado, Mr. Tapia and Mr. Borja Nazareno, particularly in view of its circumstances;
2. Expresses deep concern at the fact that, eight months after the murder, no judge has been assigned to the case, and recalls forcefully that States have a duty to dispense justice and investigate criminal acts without undue delay, identify the culprits and bring them to justice;
3. Recalls that impunity constitutes a serious threat not only for all members of the National Congress but also for all those whom they represent in Parliament;
4. Wishes to ascertain why no judge has as yet been assigned to the case; also wishes to know which body is in charge of conducting the investigations and what stage they have reached;
5. Is alarmed at the death threats which Mr. Aguirre maintains are directed against him and his family, and urges the authorities to ensure both his and his family's security by all possible means, as their duty commands;
6. Would appreciate information about the work of the Committee set up by the national Congress to monitor the proceedings in this case, with special reference to respect for due process of law;
7. Takes favourable note of the application of the Special Commission of Inquiry for the IPU to send a mission to Ecuador, and requests the Secretary General to ascertain with the authorities and the Special Commission the feasibility of such a mission;
8. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April-May 2000).

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