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Letter to President Aznar from the lawyers representing the popular accusation in the Pinochet case Madrid, the 20 of July 1999 Honourable Mr. JOSÉ MĒ AZNAR L@PEZ PRESIDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT MADRID ------ Honourable Mr. President We address you in our capacity as the legal representative of Mrs. María ALSINA HURTOS, resident of CASTELLO d'EMPURIES (Gerona, Spain), and sister of Father Joan ALSINA HURTOS, sequestered, tortured, and murdered by officials under the command of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, as well as that of Mrs. Josefina LLIDO MENGUAL, resident of Valencia (Spain), and sister of Father Antoni LLIDO MENGUAL, sequestered, tortured, and "disappeared" by officials under the command of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, both of whose facts are documented in the criminal case against Augusto Pinochet in Central Court nº 5 of the National Criminal Court of Spain. Our clients are parties to this suit as private prosecutors. We humbly place at your disposal the following facts which upon reading the press have come to our attention 1) In his public statements, and in particular in the article published in EL MERCURIO, Santiago, Chile on the 11th of this month, the Honourable Abel Matutes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, repeatedly attempts to apologize for the Tribunals of Justice investigation into the personal responsibility of Augusto Pinochet Ugarte for the murder of my client's brothers and two thousand other persons, the disappearance of 1.198 additional persons, and the torture of close to 12% of the adult population of his nation, that is to say, crimes against Humanity. 2) The systematic refusal by Mr. Abel Matutes to refer to the alleged "crimes" in his public statements, as if the indictment of Augusto Pinochet was obtained without any substantive evidence. 3) The systematic refusal by Mr. Abel Matutes to use the word "victims", as if they did not exist in this case, or in the conscience of Spanish and international public opinion, nor did they have a right to approach the Tribunals and demand justice for crimes against Humanity. 4) The refusal by Mr. Abel Matutes to mention in his public statements the "denial of justice" which has characterized this case in Chile, along with the violation by Chile of the public international order as well as pertinent international treaties, both multilateral and bilateral. 5) The handing over of documents which are part of the criminal proceedings in the Spanish National Criminal Court by Mr. Abel Matutes to the Government of Chile and which are, according to the Law, unavailable to third parties. We are referring specifically to the delivery of Public Prosecutors statements inside the judicial proceedings to the Chilean Embassy, which were censored to exclude the argument that the National Criminal Law is a competent tribunal in this case, as the brief filed in July 1996 by the first Public Prosecutor in charge of this case, the Honorable Javier Balaguer, argues, with the consultation and authorization of the State Attorney General Chief, the Honorable Carlos Granados, and which argument was later affirmed by the Criminal Tribunal in their decision on jurisdiction dated 5 November 1998. 6) The handing over to the government of Chile, who is not a party to this judicial case, in contrast to our clients, of reports prepared on jurisdiction in this case by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and outside experts. It is disturbing that the above mentioned public statements could be interpreted as a submissive posture on the part of the Government of Spain in regards to the actions of a State who is not party to this suit but who does not cease in its attempts to pressure against the proceedings in the Spanish Tribunals. It would stand in stark contrast to the energetic defense by Her Majesty's Government of the independence of the British justice system and the international criminal law being invoked. As an example we would like to offer Lord Williams of Mostyn and Lord Clinton-Davis actions in the House of Lords on this past July 6th, both of whom defended the British Courts and Government in its pursuit and persecution of the crimes of terrorism, genocide, and torture, for which Augusto Pinochet has been indicted. As you also know, the Spanish House of Representatives unanimously approved in December of 1997 a motion demanding that the proper respect due a judicial process be accorded to the one currently under way in the National Criminal Court of Spain, and on three other opportunities the European Parliament has approved resolutions requesting the same. The respect shown for international and internal law in the extradition request for Augusto Pinochet from the United Kingdom has resulted in a noticeable increase in the international prestige of the both the Justice system and Government of Spain. Consequently it should be of great concern the damage inflicted on this newfound prestige by the Minister of Foreign Affairs' choice of words. For these reasons we respectfully request that - in light of the preceding manifestations, the government of Spain take note and adopt the means necessary for the government of Spain to give the Spanish Justice system the international support it deserves in pursuing these unpunished crimes against Humanity, - as our clients are clearly affected, the transferal to us, their legal representatives, of the reports and documents with relevance to the criminal case against Augusto Pinochet and others, that were given by the Government of Spain to the State that requests the liberation without trial of an individual indicted for crimes against Humanity. Sincerely, Manuel Murilllo [on behalf of the team of lawyers representing the plaintiffs]
This document is published online by Derechos Human Rights