Interim Report - Report No 226, June 1983

Case No 1150 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 19-AUG-82 - Closed

1. 111. The Committee already examined this case at its November 1982 Session when it submitted an interim report to the Governing Body. The Government subsequently sent a very brief communication dated 14 March 1983 and the complainant organisation transmitted additional allegations in a letter dated 14 April 1983. The office has written to the Government to request more detailed information on the matter.
2. 112. El Salvador has Lot ratified either the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), or the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

1. 113. The complainant alleged that on 12 August 1982 the police broke into the transport workers' trade union premises and without any justification detained several trade union activists, including Alejandro Martinez Alvarado. Since the Committee's initial examination of the case, the matter of the detention of Alejandro Martinez Alvarado, whom the Government stated had been arrested by the police on 9 August and imprisoned in the "la Esperanza" penal establishment in the Canton of San Luis Mariona, has remained in abeyance.
2. 114. In November 1982, the Committee therefore requested the Government to send detailed information about the charges brought against Alejandro Martinez Alvarado and the text of the judgement to be handed down by the judicial authorities.

B. The Government's reply

1. 115. In a communication dated 14 March 1983, the Government states that Alejandro Martinez Alvarado has been held in the central penitentiary since 28 August 1982 by order of the military examining magistrate, pursuant to Decree No. 507 which contains provisions regarding procedure in the case of offences against the peace and independence of the State and against the law of nations - offences which the Government states are covered to by article 177 of the Constitution.

C. Further allegations

1. 116. In a letter dated 14 April 1983, the complainant states that, in addition to Alejandro Martinez Alvarado, the secretary of the trade union, Marta Imelda Dimas, has also been in prison since 9 October 1982. The complainant further alleges that the Government arrested the union's Disputes Secretary, Jorge Benjamin Rodriguez, on 19 February 1983.

D. The Committee's conclusions

1. 117. The Committee notes with grave concern that the trade unionist Alejandro Martinez Alvarado has been held in custody since August 1982 without being brought to trial. It also notes that the trade unionists Marte Imelda Dimas and Jorge Benjamin Rodriguez have allegedly been in prison since October 1982 and February 1983, respectively.
2. 118. The Committee observes, in the first place, that the Government states that the trade unionist Alejandro Martinez Alvarado has been charged with offences against the peace and independence of the State and against the law of nations but has not communicated any information on the specific acts of which he is accused. According to the complainant, he was in fact, along with other persons, arrested by the police without any justification on the premises of the transport workers' trade union.
3. 119. The Committee further notes that article 177 of the Constitution reads as follows:
   • When a suspension of constitutional guarantees has been declared, the military tribunals shall have jurisdiction in trying cases of treason, espionage, rebellion, sedition and other offences against the peace or independence of the State or against the law of nations.
   • Cases that are pending before the regular courts at the time constitutional guarantees are suspended shall continue under the jurisdiction of such courts.
   • When constitutional guarantees are re-established, the military tribunals shall continue the trials of cases pending before them.
4. 120. In its previous dealings with cases of this nature involving detention under emergency regulations, the Committee has invariably stressed the importance it attaches to all detained persons receiving a fair trial at the earliest possible moment. In the Committee's view, measures of preventive detention must be limited to very short periods intended solely to facilitate the course of a judicial inquiry.,
5. 121. The Committee therefore calls upon the Government to bring this trade union activist, who has been imprisoned for almost a year without the Government stating the specific acts with which he is charged, to trial as soon as possible by an impartial and independent judicial authority or to release him. The Committee urges the Government to continue to keep it informed of his situation and to communicate its observations on the specific facts motivating his arrest and the text of the judgement handed down.
6. 122. The Committee further requests the Government to communicate its observations on the alleged imprisonment of the two other trade unionists cited by name by the complainant.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 123. In these circumstances, the Committee recommends the Governing Body to approve this interim report and, in particular, the following conclusions:
   • (a) The Committee notes with grave concern that the trade unionist Alejandro Martinez Alvarado has been in preventive detention for almost a year under emergency regulations and calls upon the Government to release him or to bring him to trial as soon as possible by an impartial and independent judicial authority.
   • (b) The Committee urges the Government to continue to keep it informed of the situation of this trade unionist, who has been imprisoned in the central penitentiary since 28 August 1982, and to communicate its observations on the specific facts motivating his arrest and the text of the judgement handed down.
   • (c) The Committee further requests the Government to communicate its observations on the alleged imprisonment of the two other trade unionists cited by name by the complainant.