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IACHR
Press Release
IACHR Takes Case Involving Argentina to the Inter-American Court
April 18, 2011
Washington, D.C. — The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Case 11.618, Oscar Alberto Mohamed, with respect to Argentina.
The case has to do with the prosecution and criminal conviction of Oscar Alberto Mohamed for the crime of negligent homicide as a consequence of a traffic accident that took place on March 16, 1992. The process carried out failed to recognize a series of guarantees, including the principle of legality and non-retroactivity, the right to defense, and the right to appeal the judgment. In addition, the IACHR indicated that certain violations stated in the report on the merits occurred as a consequence of a legal framework in which a person who is acquitted at first instance and convicted at second instance does not have the possibility of appealing that judgment under the terms contemplated in Article 8.2.h of the American Convention on Human Rights. The case was sent to the Inter-American Court on April 13, 2011, because the Commission deemed that the State had not complied with the recommendations contained in the report on the merits.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 33/11