OEA/Ser.L/V/II.176 REPORT No. 187/20 Doc. 200 CASE 12.204 July 14, 2020 Original: Spanish ADMISIBILITY AND MERITS ACTIVE MEMORY CIVIL ASSOCIATION (VICTIMS AND FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE VICTIMS THE TERRORIST ATTACK OF JULY 18, 1994 ON THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE ISRAELI-ARGENTIAN MUTUAL ASSOCIATION) ARGENTINA Approved by the Commission at its session No. 2179 held on July 14, 2020 176 Regular Period of Sessions Cite as: IACHR, Report No. No. 187/20. Case 12.204. Admissibility and Merits. Active Memory Civil Association. Argentina. July 14, 2020 www.cidh.org INDEX I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 II. PROCEDURE OF THE PETITION BEFORE THE IACHR ................................................................................................................................................ 3 III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 A. The petitioners ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 B. The Argentine State ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 IV. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY BY THE ARGENTINE STATE ........................................................................................................... 7 V. COMPETENCE ANALYSIS AND ADMISSIBILITY ............................................................................................................................................................. 9 A. Competence, duplication of procedures, and international res judicata................................................................................................ 9 B. Exhaustion of domestic remedies and timeliness of the petition. ........................................................................................................... 9 C. Colorable claim. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 VI. MERITS CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 A. Facts of the Case.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 1. The attack on the headquarters of the Israeli-Argentinian Mutual Association and the investigation headed by the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 9 of the Federal Capital ...................................................... 11 2. The investigation delegated to the Prosecution Unit for the Investigation of the Attack on the AMIA Headquarters by the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 6 of the Federal Capital ........................... 14 3. The processes into the cover-up of the attack ................................................................................................................ 15 B. Rights to life and humane treatment (Article 4.1 and 5.1 of the American Convention) and the right to equal protection (Article 24) in relation to Articles 1.1 of the Convention.. ................................................................................................... 16 1. Specific facts related to the prevention of the attack .................................................................................................... 22 2. Considerations of the Commission in relation to the rights to life and humane treatment in this case....... 24 3. Considerations of the Commission in relation to the right to equality and non-discrimination in this case..27 C. Rights to a fair trial and judicial protection (Articles 8.1 and 25 of the Convention) in relation to the obligation to respect rights (Article 1.1 of the Convention) ................................................................................................................................................... 27 1. Regarding the due diligence in the investigations followed in this case ................................................................ 33 a. Investigation lead by the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 9…………………………………………………..32 i) Initial proceedings at the crime scene and raids carried out by the State Intelligence Secretary…………….33 ii) Regarding the so-called “Syrian / Kanoore Edul lead” ............................................................................................ 36 ii) Actions taken by the Investigating Judge No. 9 in relation to the accused Carlos Telleldín…………..……… 38 iv) Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................. 42 b. Investigation delegated by the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 6 to the Prosecution Unit for the Investigation of the Attack on the AMIA Headquarters ........................................................................................................ 44 i) Regarding the conservation and handling of the organic material affected in the investigation and its use as evidence ……………………………………………………….…………………….…………………………………..…46 ii) Regarding the determination of the identity of the person who would have immolated themselves in the attack ………………………………………………………………………………………… .....................................47 iii) Regarding the death of the prosecutor in charge of the investigation .……...……………… 52 iv) Regarding the failure to adopt appropriate measures to determine the identity of the so-called "victim 85"..……………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………….…... 52 v) Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………..51 c. Investigations initiated into the cover-up of the attack ................................................................................................ 53 1 i) Investigation of the irregularities committed during the investigation conducted by the Federal Criminal Court No. 9 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 ii) Investigation initiated by the complaint of the Prosecution Unit for the Investigation of the Attack at the AMIA dated January 13, 2015………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………55 iii) Conclusion............................................................................................................................................................................. 56 D. Rights of Access to Information (Articles 13, 1.1, and 2 of the Convention) and to Judicial Protection (Article 25 of the American Convention) ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 57 1. On the issue of classified information held by the State Intelligence Secretariat, its successor agencies, and the UFI-AMIA ............................................................................................................................................................................. 62 2. On the issue of the preservation conditions of the documentary collections and the accessibility of the declassified information ........................................................................................................................................................ 64 E. Right to humane treatment of the next of kin (Article 5 of the American Convention). .................................................... 65 VII. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................... 67 2 REPORT No. 187/20 CASE 12.204 ADMISSIBILITY AND MERITS ACTIVE MEMORY CIVIL ASSOCIATION ARGENTINA July 14, 2020 I. INTRODUCTION 1. On July 16, 1999, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission,” “the Commission,” or “the IACHR”) received a petition signed by a group of victims and relatives of the victims of the terrorist attack perpetrated against the headquarters of the Israeli-Argentinian Mutual Association [Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina](AMIA) organized through the Active Memory Civil Association [Asociación Civil Memoria Activa]1. The petitioners affirmed that the Argentine State (hereinafter "the Argentine State", "the State" or "Argentina") is internationally responsible for the violation of its duty to prevent the terrorist attack that occurred on July 18, 1994, which caused the death of 85 people and serious injuries to the detriment of at least 151 other people (“the alleged victims”), and due to the state of impunity, to date, of the facts. II. PROCEDURE OF THE PETITION BEFORE