Document #1199864
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Amnesty International Report 1997
and Latinamerica Press report that police killed 12 people
extrajudicially in 1996 (1997, 74; 6 Mar. 1997, 4). According to
the attached 16 April 1996 IPS report, the Committee of Relatives
of Victims of Institutional Violence (COFAVI) was handling 350
complaints of police violence and monitoring 250 lawsuits against
police. The same report stated that the situation of police
violence in Argentina was among the worst in the Americas (ibid.).
A 10 April 1997 Latinamerica Press report states that
COFAVI has settled 26 cases of police violence since its foundation
in 1992, and that 300 remain pending.
Several 1997 reports state that police were
involved in the January 1997 assassination of Argentine journalist
José Luis Cabezas (AP 15 May 1997; IPS 7 Feb. 1997;
Latinamerica Press 10 Apr. 1997, 4; ibid., 6 Mar. 1997;
Latin America Weekly Report 18 Mar. 1997, 143; ibid., 4
Feb. 1997, 70). Latin America Weekly Report states that 20
police officers have been dismissed for their alleged tampering in
the Cabezas investigations (18 Mar. 1997, 143). A 15 May 1997
Associated Press (AP) report specifies that six suspects, including
two former police officers, were arrested in April and placed under
custody. All 48,000 agents of the Buenos Aires provincial police
force have been placed under "dispensable" (en disponibilidad)
status, which signifies that they can be let go at any time,
because of Cabezas' assassination, and the ongoing corruption and
crime associated with the force (Latin American Weekly
Report 18 Mar. 1997, 143; Reuters 14 Mar. 1997). For
additional information on the assassination of Cabezas and police
violence in Argentina, please consult the attached 1997 AP, IPS,
Latinamerica Press, Latin America Weekly Report and
Reuters articles.
In the Reuters article Buenos Aires
provincial governor, Eduardo Duhalde, stated that placing a
civilian at the top of the provincial police force may be what is
needed to reform a force so riddled by crime and corruption (14
Mar. 1997). He added that the police force's notorious reputation
was because of bad cops and "traitors" (ibid.).
In another attached Reuters article the
Catholic Church is reported to have criticized the strong police
reaction to a group of protesters in the province of Jujuy (6 June
1997). The group was protesting high unemployment when police
dispersed the crowd and allegedly injured 180 people (ibid.).
With the exception of the one reference to
"traitors" above, information on reports of violations against
former police officers viewed as "traitors" could not be found
among the sources consulted by the DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Amnesty International. 1997. Amnesty
International Report 1997. New York: Amnesty International
USA.
The Associated Press (AP). 15 May 1997.
"Preventive Custody for Six Suspects in Photographer Slaying."
(NEXIS)
Inter Press Service (IPS). 7 February
1997. Marcela Valente. Argentina: Police Corruption Not a
Box-Office Hit." (NEXIS)
_____. 16 April 1996. Daniel Gatti.
"Latin America: Police Reforms Needed to Stem Rights Violations."
(NEXIS)
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 10
April 1997. Vol. 29, No. 13. Dafne Sabanes Plou. "Families Organize
Against Police Violence."
_____. 6 March 1997. Vol. 29, No. 8.
Dafne Sabanes Plou. "Police Are the New Criminals."
Latin America Weekly Report
[London]. 18 March 1997. "Provincial Police Threaten Strike."
_____. 4 February 1997. "Cabezas Murder
Becomes Big Issue."
Reuters. 6 June 1997. BC Cycle.
"Argentine Police, Jobless Clash in Salta Province." (NEXIS)
_____. 14 March 1997. BC Cycle. Stephen
Brown. "Argentine Police Given 'Last Chance' to Reform."
(NEXIS)
Attachments
The Associated Press (AP). 15 May 1997.
"Preventive Custody for Six Suspects in Photographer Slaying."
(NEXIS)
Inter Press Service (IPS). 7 February
1997. Marcela Valente. Argentina: Police Corruption Not a
Box-Office Hit." (NEXIS)
_____. 16 April 1996. Daniel Gatti.
"Latin America: Police Reforms Needed to Stem Rights Violations."
(NEXIS)
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 10
April 1997. Vol. 29, No. 13. Dafne Sabanes Plou. "Families Organize
Against Police Violence," p. 4.
_____. 6 March 1997. Vol. 29, No. 8.
Dafne Sabanes Plou. "Police Are the New Criminals," p. 4.
Latin America Weekly Report
[London]. 18 March 1997. "Provincial Police Threaten Strike," p.
143.
_____. 4 February 1997. "Cabezas Murder
Becomes Big Issue," p. 70.
Reuters. 6 June 1997. BC Cycle.
"Argentine Police, Jobless Clash in Salta Province." (NEXIS)
_____. 14 March 1997. BC Cycle. Stephen
Brown. "Argentine Police Given 'Last Chance' to Reform."
(NEXIS)