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 168th session (Havana, 7 April 2001)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the outline of 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, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/168/13(c)-R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 167th session (October 2000),

Taking account of the information provided by the Special Commission of Inquiry (CEI) on 31 December 2000, 3 and 26 January, 22 February, and 23 and 26 March 2001,

Recalling the following information on file:

• Mr. Jaime Ricaurte Hurtado González and Mr. Pablo Vicente Tapia Farinango, and their assistant Mr. Wellington Borja Nazareno, were shot dead on 17 February 1999 shortly after leaving the morning plenary sitting of the National Congress;
• The preliminary police investigation, based primarily on the testimony of the principal suspect at the time, Mr. Washington Fernando Aguirre, was publicly announced on 19 February 1999 by the then President of the Republic, and concluded that the motive for the killing was Jaime Hurtado's links with the Colombian guerrilla movement;
• he Special Commission of Inquiry (CEI) set up by the Government to establish the truth has since its inception described the findings of the police report as "fabricated, incomplete and contradictory" and has gathered evidence suggesting that Mr. Hurtado's investigations into corruption cases involving high-profile figures from both the business and the political worlds may have been the motive for the crime;
• The judge, who was not assigned to the case until 10 months after the murder, discarded the police conclusions,

Considering that the CEI's most recent report (March 2001) entitled Crime and Silence gives further ground to believe that the triple murder may be related to Mr. Hurtado's actions aimed at exposing abuse of power in high-profile circles, and therefore highlights the need for the justice system to take into account all possible lines of inquiry in ensuring that the truth is ascertained,

Considering that while the President of Quito District High Court closed the preliminary investigation on 18 December 2000, reportedly without having undertaken or completed all procedural steps necessary for determining responsibility for the murder, he decided to reopen it on 22 January 2001 with a view to performing further investigative acts,

Noting that on 24 October 2000 the National Congress adopted a resolution urging the Government to grant pensions to the families of the murdered parliamentarians, in line with previous practice in the case of deceased members of Parliament,

Considering that, according to the CEI, its own adequate functioning is being hampered by a lack of financial resources,

Bearing in mind that, on the occasion of the on-site mission which Committee member Juan Pablo Letelier carried out in April 2000, the government authorities expressed their support for the work of the Special Commission of Inquiry and the judicial investigation,

1. Deeply regrets that the authorities, and the parliamentary authorities in particular, have failed to respond to the Committee's requests for information;

2. Notes with satisfaction that the judge in the case decided to reopen the preliminary investigation of the murder of the MPs concerned, and is confident that all investigative action necessary to elucidate this crime will now be taken;

3. Further notes with satisfaction that the National Congress adopted a resolution requesting the Government to grant pensions to the families of the murdered MPs; regrets, however, that it has supplied no information as to whether these pensions have indeed been granted;

4. Reiterates its firm belief that the National Congress has a particular interest in ensuring that the murder of one of its members does not go unpunished since, in the final analysis, the unpunished murder of an MP stands as a threat to all the other members of Parliament concerned and to the society it represents as a whole;

5. Remains therefore confident that the National Congress will monitor the legal proceedings; and reiterates its wish to ascertain whether the National Congress, in common with other Parliaments, is competent to take legal action on behalf of the assassinated members;

6. Calls on the National Congress to support the work of the Special Commission of Inquiry, in particular with adequate funding to allow it to continue making a significant contribution to establishing the truth in this case;

7. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the President of the National Congress, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, the Special Commission of Inquiry and the sources, seeking the requested information;

8. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (September 2001).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 105th Conference and related meetings of the Inter-Parliamentary Union" in PDF format (file size approximately 442K). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.