Brazil was condemned by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for the prolonged and unfounded solitary confinement imposed on Chilean Mauricio Hernández Norambuena. The decision, issued last Friday (23), orders Brazil to pay compensation for non-material damages, in addition to court costs and the restitution of amounts to the Court’s Legal Aid Fund for Victims.
Mauricio Norambuena was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the kidnapping of Brazilian advertising executive Washington Olivetto. According to the Commission, the kidnapper remained under an isolation regime for 4 years and 2 months, between 2002 and 2006. After serving time in several Brazilian prisons, he was extradited to Chile in 2019.
There, the effects of the isolation regime and lack of communication on the health of the condemned were observed, said the Brazilian Federal Public Defender’s Office, which represented the Chilean. According to the defense, Norambuena developed hypertension, vertigo, body tremors, anxiety and depression, in addition to a tumor in the throat.
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The court recognized that the Differentiated Disciplinary Regime is compatible with the American Convention on Human Rights. However, it stressed that its application should be exceptional, temporary, and under strict judicial control to prevent abuses and violations of human dignity – which would not have occurred in the case in question.
The report requested a position from the Ministry of Human Rights, but has not yet obtained a response.
