This case is involves twenty members of the armed forces who were accused of various crimes in connection with the misappropriation of State military funds. The victims were all arrested and detained beginning in 1980; two were held in detention for one year, while eighteen remained in detention for seven years. In 1989, the State military tribunal found all twenty guilty of the crimes they had been accused of. The victims sought recourse before the domestic courts of the State, which resulted in one acquittal and a reduction of the others’ sentences. The Court found that the State violated the American Convention on Human Rights because of the State's prolonged detention of the victims, and the failure to adjudicate their cases within a reasonable time.
Case Summary: Argüelles et al. v. Argentina, Case Summary