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 169th session (Ouagadougou, 14 September 2001)

The Inter-Parliamentary Council,

Referring to the resolution it adopted at its 168th session (April 2001) on 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, and to the related report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians,

Taking account of the information provided by the Prosecutor General and the Special Commission of Inquiry (CEI) on 7 June and 30 August 2001,

Recalling the following information on file:

• Mr. Jaime Ricaurte Hurtado González, 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 report of the police investigation, resting primarily on the testimony of the main suspect at the time, Mr. Washington Fernando Aguirre, and made public on 19 February 1999 by the President of the Republic, concluded that the motive for the killing was Jaime Hurtado's links with the Colombian guerrilla movement;

• The Special Commission of Inquiry (CEI) set up by the Government to establish the truth has since its inception described the findings of the preliminary 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 business and political circles 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, and is at present conducting the preliminary investigation which he had closed on 21 December 2000 but reopened on 22 January 2001 to take additional evidence;

Recalling that three persons, Mr. Ponce, Mr. Merino and Mr. Aguirre, were arrested on 18 February 1999 and sentenced on 2 August 2000 to six years' imprisonment for criminal association in connection with the triple murder; noting that in March, April and May 2001 they were granted early release for good conduct after serving two years of their sentence; considering in this respect the following:

• the Special Commission of Inquiry expressed concern at their early release, particularly in the case of Mr. Merino, who was granted early release for good conduct despite a fight he reportedly had with Jairo Almanza, a person accused of drug trafficking who had escaped from Ibarra Prison six months before the murder of Jaime Hurtado together with Wilthbert Ayerbe, the person who had contracted Washington Aguirre to prepare the crime;

• the CEI has therefore requested the National Congress to summon the Director of Social Rehabilitation, who had authorised those early releases, to question him in this connection and to determine whether he had acted in accordance with the law;

• according to the information provided by the Prosecutor General, the reduction of the prison sentences of the accused, Cristián Ponce and Serguey Merino, was granted by the competent bodies under the legal regulations in force;

• on 6 August 2001, Mr. Ponce and Mr. Aguirre were summoned by the Judge, but failed to appear; the CEI fears that they may already have left the country,

Considering further that the presumed perpetrator of the murder, who, according to the CEI, has been formally declared a suspect in the Hurtado case, Freddy Contreras Luna, is currently serving in the Rehabilitation Centre of Varones - Quito (Centro de Rehabilitación Social) a 12-year prison sentence handed down on him on 19 March 2001 in another murder case; according to the CEI, although he might be granted early release in the near future, the judge has not acted upon its petition to order his preventive detention in the Hurtado case,

Taking account of the Prosecutor General's observation of 7 June 2001 that the department of public prosecution, through its designated Prosecutor, is actively pursuing the triple murder case with the Court and the CEI, and that her Office do its utmost to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice; noting in this connection that, in his reply to a request for information from the Canadian National Group, the Ambassador of Ecuador to Canada stated that the reopening of the investigation permitted the completion of various investigative actions in order to conclude the preliminary investigation, prepare the indictment and proceed to the trial stage; however, according to the information provided by the CEI on 30 August 2001, none of the investigative actions requested by the CEI has in fact been carried out, in particular as regards the interrogation of certain police officers, despite an undertaking given by the General Police Commander to the CEI on 20 April 2001 that they would testify,

Recalling 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,

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. Thanks the Prosecutor General and the Special Commission of Inquiry for the information provided;

2. Notes with satisfaction the undertaking of the Prosecutor General to make every effort to bring the murderers to justice and to cooperate with the CEI; expresses the earnest hope that such cooperation will permit the completion of evidence taking as requested by the CEI;

3. Is alarmed that Mr. Ponce and Mr. Aguirre, both having been granted early release, failed to obey a summons, and urges the authorities to make every effort, as their duty requires, to ensure that they obey court orders and are placed at the disposal of the court;

4. Urges likewise the authorities to ensure that the presumed perpetrator of the murder, Mr. Fredy Contreras Luna, is placed at the disposal of the judge in this case;

5. Wishes to ascertain (a) the procedural status of Mr. Merino, Mr. Ponce, Mr. Aguirre and Mr. Contreras in the murder case of Mr. Hurtado, Mr. Tapia and Mr. Wellington and (b) the stage reached in the proceedings in this case and their result, if any;
6. Wishes to ascertain also whether the National Congress has taken action to question the Director of Social Rehabilitation in connection with the early releases of Mr. Aguirre, Mr. Ponce and Mr. Merino;

7. Reiterates its conviction that Parliament 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 other members of the parliament concerned and to the society it represents as a whole;

8. Regrets therefore all the more that, since the on-site mission to Ecuador in April 2000, there has not been any response from the parliamentary authorities, which has prevented the Committee from taking account of their views in its deliberations in this case and of any steps they may have taken to monitor the investigation;

9. Calls once again on the National Congress to make every effort to ensure that justice is fully done in this case, inter alia by supporting the work of Special Commission of Inquiry, including with financial resources;

10. Trusts that the Government has acted on the National Congress resolution requesting that the families of the victims are granted a pension, and reiterates its wish to receive confirmation of this;

11. Requests the Secretary General to convey this decision to the President of the National Congress, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, the Special Commission of Inquiry and the sources;

12. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (March 2002).

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