Guayabin Massacre v. Dominican Republic (Admissibility Decision) IACHR (22 December 2008) Report No. Report No. 95/08

Members of the Dominican military assigned to police the Haitian border to prevent smuggling of arms, drugs and vehicles gunned down a truck carrying 28 Haitian nationals.  The truck was pursued for numerous kilometers during which time, the military opened fire indiscriminately.  Once the driver was shot and killed, the truck overturned and the military continued to fire on the individuals fleeing the scene—killing at least two of them and in total seven individuals.  Several others were wounded—five, critically.  The survivors were taken to a detention facility and held without being informed of the charges against them.  They were then expelled from the country with no explanation or judicial hearing.  While the State held military commissions to determine the responsibility of those involved, the victims were prohibited from participation and were unable to seek a remedy in a civilian jurisdiction.  The Commission held that because the investigations of a civil matter were carried out by military proceedings, there was not an effective remedy available to the petitioners.  Therefore, the Commission held that in combination with the evidence submitted, the case was admissible.