Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 343, November 2006

Case No 2396 (El Salvador) - Complaint date: 10-NOV-04 - Closed

Allegations: The murder in Usulután (El Salvador) of Mr. José Gilberto Soto, a native of El Salvador with United States citizenship and an official of the United States Teamsters Union, while he was visiting Central America in order to develop closer working relations and collaboration with transport sector workers

633. The complaint is contained in a communication from the Salvadorian Inter-Union Committee (CIEL) dated 10 November 2004. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) associated itself with the complaint in a communication dated 28 February 2006, and provided additional information.

1. 634. The Government sent its observations in communications dated 19 January and 26 August 2005.
2. 635. El Salvador ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), and the Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978 (No. 151) on 6 September 2006.

A. The complainants’ allegations

1. 636. In its communication dated 10 November 2004, the Salvadorian Inter-Union Committee (CIEL), which comprises the Confederation of Salvadorian Workers (CTS), the Autonomous Confederation of Salvadorian Workers (CATS), the Confederation of Democratic Workers (CTD), the Single Confederation of Salvadorian Workers (CUTS), the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Trade Union Coordinating Body of Salvadorian Workers (CSTS), alleges that, on 5 November 2004, trade unionist Mr. José Gilberto Soto was murdered by unidentified men who shot him in the back. Mr. José Gilberto Soto, a native of El Salvador with United States citizenship, was an official of the United States Teamsters Union. The crime was perpetrated at the home of the victim’s relatives in the city of Usulután (Department of Usulután), El Salvador. Mr. Soto was in El Salvador during a tour of Central America for the purpose of developing closer working relations and collaboration with transport sector workers.
2. 637. The CIEL states that such an event causes great concern among Salvadorian trade unions, given that the motives for the attack are unclear. Furthermore, they fear that practices used in the past to repress union leaders will be repeated. According to the CIEL, the authorities have thus far remained silent about the murder, which may become just another crime that goes unpunished.
3. 638. In its communication of 28 February 2006, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) states that there is much evidence to suggest that the investigation carried out by the Government into the death of Mr. Soto has been anything but professional and objective. The ICFTU is especially concerned by the findings of Ms. Beatrice Alamanni de Carrillo, the Human Rights Ombudsperson of El Salvador, who investigated Mr. Soto’s death exhaustively. Her investigation revealed that:
4. – The police did not protect the crime scene or the evidence when they arrived. For example, the bicycle identified by witnesses as having been used by one of the men who shot the victim was not left at the crime scene but placed in the back of a police car. Similarly, there are indications that the established procedures for safeguarding and transmitting evidence were not followed.
5. – First-hand interviews with the suspected murderers indicate that they were held in isolation and tortured physically and mentally (suffocation, sexual abuse, serious death threats). The Ministry of Public Prosecution supported the police and did not open any investigation into the allegations of torture. One of the complainants, on 8 December 2004, brought charges of torture before the Third Magistrate’s Court of Usulután but the judge did not order an investigation and did not even require that the plaintiff be medically examined.
6. – Allegations of torture also came to light when one of the men who shot at the victim publicly retracted his original statement in which he had named Mr. Soto’s mother-in-law as being behind the killing. The suspect retracted his statement before an open court in the presence of a magistrate, and stated that he had been coerced into naming the victim’s mother-in-law and that members of the Ministry of Public Prosecutor had been present and taken part in the coercion.
7. – The Attorney-General’s Office and El Salvador’s Elite Division against Organized Crime (DECO) had constantly referred to “secret or confidential informants” as being the source of information against the suspected murderers and the deceased man’s mother-in-law. Since one of the men who had shot at the victim retracted the testimony implicating Mr. Soto’s mother-in-law in the crime, there is no means of corroborating the testimony of these informants and the situation is thus especially worrying.
8. – The Ministry of Public Prosecutor and the police have sealed all the files pertaining to the investigation of the murder of Mr. Soto and refused access to his family and to the Human Rights Ombudsman. It is difficult to understand this decision, especially if the Government is, as it claims to be, sure that the real murderers are in custody.
9. – It is clear that the Government has never considered the hypothesis that Mr. Soto’s union activities might have been the motive for the crime. This is reflected by what happened when the Salvadorian police went to the United States to interview Mr. Soto’s family. The police had a damaged photograph of members of the victim’s family, allegedly obtained from one of the suspects. The police stated that it believed the photograph to have been given to the suspects by Mr. Soto’s mother-in-law to help them identify him. Mr. Soto was not in the photograph, although the family member interviewed was in it. The person next to the person interviewed had been cut out of the picture but his hand could be seen on the latter’s hip. The person who was interviewed could not say whose hand it was but said when pressed that it “might be” Mr. Soto’s hand. In the sworn written statement, the police indicated that the hand seen in the photograph was that of Mr. Soto. That unequivocal statement was not reconsidered until the interpreter who had been present at the interview pointed out the mistake and insisted that it be corrected.
10. – Another example that illustrates the lack of police interest in finding other possible motives for the killing of Mr. Soto is the failure to interview people whom the victim had met on the day of his murder and on the previous day. It is not clear if these people were in fact interviewed at all by the police, and it is impossible to find out because the police have sealed the files.
11. 639. For the reasons indicated above, the ICFTU would be grateful if the Committee would recommend that:
12. – the Government of El Salvador open an investigation once again and seriously consider the extent to which Mr. Soto’s trade union activities had a bearing on his killing;
13. – the Government desist from obstructing the work of the Human Rights Ombudsperson; and
14. – the Government re-open the files relating to the case of Mr. Soto and allow the Office for Human Rights, the victim’s family and the trade unions concerned full access to the investigation and the investigators.
15. B. The Government’s reply
16. 640. In its communication of 19 January 2005, the Government states that, just like the Salvadorian Inter-Union Committee (CIEL), it condemned this crime from the outset, and has already launched relevant investigations to find the criminals responsible for this deplorable incident. To that end, the Government has taken all the necessary measures to ensure a serious, in-depth and impartial investigation with a view to identifying those responsible for the murder of Mr. Soto, as well as their motives, and to ensuring that they are tried and duly punished. The Government will not rest until it finds those responsible. It has requested the Attorney-General of the Republic to prepare an official report on developments in the investigation into the death of Mr. Soto and to investigate all possible motives for the crime, including those related to Mr. Soto’s labour activities.
17. 641. The Government shares the CIEL’s concern that such deplorable situations could pose a threat to the country’s stability and democratic system. However, it highlights the fact that respect for the right to freedom of association is duly protected in El Salvador and will not be affected by this incident.
18. 642. The Government states that it will keep the Committee informed of any progress made by the Attorney-General’s office in shedding light on the incident.
19. 643. In its communication dated 26 August 2005, the Government reiterates its previous statements and states that, according to investigations carried out by the Elite Division against Organized Crime (DECO) of the National Civil Police which led to the arrest of those currently facing charges (including Mr. Soto’s mother-in-law) in connection with the crime, all the elements suggest a crime committed for (family-related) personal motives unconnected with the victim’s trade union activities. Accordingly, the relevant legal proceedings are currently under way. Proceedings are at the pre-trial stage, which means that all the elements to support the charges brought by the Attorney-General’s office against the accused now in custody are currently being gathered (section 265 of the Penal Code). The Government adds that these proceedings are subject to judicial secrecy, for which reason any reports or investigations relating to the case cannot be made public, and that it will inform the Committee of any decisions handed down during the proceedings.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 644. The Committee notes that after the Government’s observations dated 9 January and 26 August 2005, the ICFTU presented additional information on 28 February 2006, which was subsequently communicated to the Government, and that the Government had not replied to this information despite two previous requests by the Committee in this respect. The Committee notes that this case concerns the murder in Usulután (El Salvador) of Mr. José Gilberto Soto, a native of El Salvador with United States citizenship and an official of the United States Teamsters Union, while he was visiting Central America in order to develop closer working relations and collaboration with transport sector workers. The Committee notes the Government’s statements expressing its concern, condemning and regretting this incident and offering its assurances that the right to freedom of association will not be affected.
2. 645. On previous occasions, the Committee has indicated that the killing, disappearance or serious injury of trade union leaders and trade unionists requires the institution of independent judicial inquiries in order to shed full light, at the earliest date, on the facts and the circumstances in which such actions occurred and in this way, to the extent possible, determine where responsibilities lie, punish the guilty parties and prevent the repetition of similar events [see Digest of decisions and principles of the Freedom of Association Committee, 4th edition, 1996, para. 51].
3. 646. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s statements to the effect that current legal proceedings are at the pre-trial stage and the individuals now facing charges, including the mother-in-law of Mr. José Gilberto Soto, have been arrested. The Committee notes that the complainants emphasize that the motives for the murder were unclear. The Committee also notes the deficiencies and irregularities during the investigation, which were reported by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), and the fact that, in the view of that organization, the investigation did not consider the hypothesis that Mr. Soto might have been murdered because of his trade union activities; according to the ICFTU, the proper procedures for safeguarding and transmitting material evidence was not respected; no investigations were carried out into allegations of physical and psychological torture of the suspects (isolation, suffocation, sexual abuse and death threats); a statement was made by one of those who shot at the victim to the effect that he had been coerced into naming the victim’s mother-in-law as being behind the crime; the office of the Attorney-General and the El Salvador’s Elite Division against Organized Crime (DECO) referred to secret or confidential informants providing information on the role of the mother-in-law and the other suspects; the Public Prosecutor’s office and the police have refused access to all the files relating to the investigation, which means that the victim’s family and the Human Rights Ombudsman have not been able to consult them; the photograph said to have been obtained from one of the suspects, which had allegedly been given to the suspects by the victim’s mother-in-law, was not of the victim himself but of a member of his family, while according to the police, the hand in the photograph was not unequivocally confirmed as being that of Mr. Soto by a family member, who stated only that it “might be” that of Mr. Soto; and the police did not immediately question the persons whom the victim had met on the day of his death and on the day before, and whether they did so subsequently is not known. The Committee notes on the other hand the Government’s statement to the effect that the inquiries carried out by the national civil police suggest that the crime was motivated by personal (family-related) factors unrelated to Mr. Soto’s trade union activities.
4. 647. Under these circumstances, and deeply deploring the murder of trade union official Mr. José Gilberto Soto, the Committee emphasizes the importance of bringing the guilty parties to justice and requests the Government, as a matter of urgency, to keep it informed of the criminal proceedings under way. It expects that the plaintiffs will be allowed access to all the elements of the case; that the investigation will be completed and all the deficiencies reported by the ICFTU, if proven true, be rectified, without any attempts to obstruct the work of the Human Rights Ombudsman; and that these proceedings will be concluded in the near future.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 648. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendation:
   • Deeply regretting the killing of the trade union leader José Gilberto Soto, the Committee emphasizes that it is essential to bring the guilty parties to justice and requests the Government, as a matter of urgency, to keep it informed of the criminal proceedings currently under way. It expects that the plaintiffs will be granted access to all the elements of the case file, that the investigation will be completed and the deficiencies reported by the ICFTU, if proven true, be rectified, without any attempts to obstruct the work of the Human Rights Ombudsman, and that the proceedings will be concluded in the near future.