The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS) is to investigate government responsibility for the death of journalist Vladimir Herzog in 1975 during the military dictatorship (1964-1985).

The case was accepted by the international body in November last year and made public on Tuesday, January 22 by Herzog’s family. According to the formal complaint Brazil has not yet complied with its obligation to investigate, put on trial and punish those responsible for the death of Vlado, as the journalist was known.

Brazil denounced in the OAS over the Vladimir Herzog case

The formal complaint was presented in 2009 by human rights groups, such as CEJIL (Center for Justice and International Law), FIDDH (Inter-American Foundation for the Defense of Human Rights), the Tortura Nunca Más (No More Torture) group and the Vladimir Herzog Institute.

“The Herzog case demonstrates the neglect of the Brazilian justice system during the military dictatorship and also during the period of democracy in applying justice for the crimes committed by public officials and private persons belonging to the dictatorship,” said Viviana Krsticevic, executive director of CEJIL, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., who went to Brazil to announce the acceptance by the IACHR of the Herzog case.

Vlado died after being tortured in the DOI-Codi (Information Operations Detachment of the Internal Defense Operation Center) in São Paulo.

At that time the Army claimed his cause of death was suicide, but last year a court corrected the death certificate, determining that the death was due to “injuries and mistreatment.”

It is expected that the IACHR will complete the denunciation examination process in one year, when it will have to present a report with recommendations to the Brazilian government. If the recommendations are not complied with the case could be put before the OAS’ Inter-American Human Rights Court.

“We want to know who are those responsible for what happened to my father,” said Ivo Herzog, the journalist’s son and director of the Vladimir Herzog Institute.

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/1218807-brasil-sera-investigado-em-orgao-internacional-por-caso-herzog.shtml (Portuguese)