Argentina: William Walter Vargas González, 15 years fighting against torture

Based on this evidence, XUMEK, a partner organisation of OMCT's SOS-Torture Network, filed a complaint to the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Province of Mendoza and the Human Rights Directorate of Mendoza. Thus, the Special Unit of Complex Crimes opened an investigation against seven officials of the penitentiary for torture, mistreatment and omission to denounce acts of torture. The complaint launched a long process marked by delays, procedural irregularities and lack of witness and victims' protection. Mr. Vargas González and XUMEK decided to take the case before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission (IACHR), who published its admissibility report N°79/22 in April 2022.

Despite these challenges, XUMEK pushed for the creation of the Mendoza Mechanism of the Prevention of Torture. And, after 9 years of criminal proceedings, a sentence of 10 years in prison was handed to six of the guards. Moreover, XUMEK asked the criminal tribunal to grant measures of satisfaction and non-repetition, like psychological support to the victim, educational and professional programs, mandatory training courses for prison and court staff on international protocols to prevent and document torture. Mr. Vargas González defence presented a series of petitions to overrule his conviction, but they were all rejected. The court finally upheld Mr. Vargas González's sentence in December 2024. The judge also ordered the immediate arrest of all the prison guards who were convicted, except for one of them who is on the run.

Mr. Vargas González was detained again on March 14th, 2024, in Mendoza, after being accused of aggravated arm robbery. A day after his admission to the Provincial Prision, one of the guards entered his cell and beat him. This was all recorded by the security cameras. Mr. Vargas González was taken to the Medical Examiner of Mendoza, and an investigation was opened with the help of XUMEK.

After facing significant challenges to file the case, XUMEK asked for the intervention of the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture. After filling the complaint, Mr. Vargas González was intercepted by police agents and threatened to make him renounce the complaint. After this episode was communicated to the authorities, the court granted Mr. Vargas González police protection. Nonetheless, this did not prevent him from suffering a new attack from a group of police agents.

When Mr. Vargas González went to the Public Prosecutor's Office to denounce the attacks, he was detained by the police given his vehement complaints demanding protective measures. During his arrest he was beaten again under the pretext that he was resisting detention; subsequently, he was transferred to Unit XII Es.Tra.D.A. Given that there was no information on the whereabouts of Mr. Vargas González, XUMEK presented an Habeas Corpus before the Preliminary Court.

The judge in charge of the case summoned Mr. Vargas González for interview and ordered his transfer to Mendoza's Central Hospital to treat the injuries he had sustained. He was then released and put under the witness protection program. Nonetheless, Mr. Vargas González has yet to receive concrete protection measures and finds himself in a situation of grave vulnerability.

During the court proceedings, the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture presented an amicus brief, that was then rejected under the argument that it violated the principle of equality of arms and, consequently, threatened procedural guarantees. These arguments casted doubt on the impartiality of the judge. Thus, XUMEK asked for the removal of the judge from the case, which was reassigned to a new one. Finally, XUMEK asked for procedural invalidity, particularly on the rejection of the National Commission's Amicus Brief.