Quinteros v. Uruguay
Key Judgment
Legal Relevance
Keywords: Obligation to Prevent | Interim/Urgent Measures | Relatives as Victims | Right to Know the Truth | Effective Remedy | Admissibility
Themes: Justice and Truth
The Committee found that the anguish and stress caused to the family by the disappearance of their loved one and by the continuing uncertainty concerning their fate and whereabouts are a form of torture or other cruel and inhuman treatment.
Judgment Date
July 21, 1983
Country
Uruguay
Judicial Body
Human Rights Committee
Articles violated
Article 7 [ICCPR], Article 9 [ICCPR], Article 10(1) [ICCPR]
Articles not violated / not dealt with
Article 12 [ICCPR], Article 14 [ICCPR], Article 17 [ICCPR], Article 19 [ICCPR]
Facts of the Case
Ms. Elena Quinteros Almeida was arrested on 28 June 1976 on the grounds of the Embassy of Venezuela at Montevideo by Uruguayan police. They broke into the Embassy grounds as Ms. Quinteros was seeking asylum and dragged her off of the grounds into an unmarked vehicle. The evidence indicated that she was later transferred to an official army truck and that she was subjected to torture in a military detention centre in August 1976.