Report in which the committee requests to be kept informed of development - Report No 344, March 2007

Case No 2495 (Costa Rica) - Complaint date: 12-JUN-06 - Closed

Allegations: Armed robbery at the headquarters of the Rerum Novarum Confederation of Workers by two persons, with death threats to five officials and employees and the theft of their personal effects and a computer belonging to the Confederation, after searching through the offices

865. The complaint is contained in a communication from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 12 June 2006. The Government sent its observations in a communication dated 14 August 2006.

1. 866. Costa Rica has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant’s allegations

1. 867. In its communication of 12 June 2006, the ICFTU reports intimidation and serious threats to the life of employees and officials of the Rerum Novarum Confederation of Workers (CTRN) during a raid on its headquarters.
2. 868. The ICFTU reports that, on 24 May 2006 at 10.00 a.m., the following were in the trade union premises of the CTRN: Tannia González, receptionist; Nieves Granja; Gustavo Hernández, general employee; Alejandro López, secretary of the organization; and Tyronne Esna, secretary for education. Ms González was suddenly pushed into the meeting room by an attacker who had his hand over her mouth and was pressing a revolver to her head, and who ordered the others to lie down on the floor. A revolver was also pushed into Tyronne Esna’s mouth.
3. 869. The CTRN officials and employees were tied up with plastic tape and one of the attackers told them to show where the money was, while the other took their belongings: wallets, five mobile telephones, two electronic organizers, gold items, cash, chequebooks and other CTRN documents. They also took the keys to Mr Lopez’s and Mr Esna’s cars. While they were asking about the safe, they searched the filing cabinets, emptied them and took the files from all the offices. They then moved everyone to one of the bathrooms, where they continued threatening them, telling them that if they talked or said anything they would be killed.
4. 870. The attackers were talking by mobile telephone with someone outside while they were threatening to kill the CTRN officials and employees. They said that they knew the trade union leader, Rodrigo Aguilar, was in Brazil and that there were three other persons. They searched the whole premises and took a computer containing information that is of great value to the CTRN and a complaint to the ILO. After throwing them to the floor, they went off leaving the CTRN officials and employees in the same position for 45 minutes, until they were able to undo their bonds.
5. B. The Government’s reply
6. 871. In its communication of 14 August 2006, the Government indicates that the complainant organization is referring to matters outside the jurisdiction of the ILO, which relate to armed robbery at the trade union premises and alleged threats against officials and workers of the CTRN, which occurred on 24 May 2006. The Government draws attention to the blatant omission by the trade union of any reference to the action that is being taken by the competent authorities to deal with situations such as the present case, and the fact that the Costa Rican authorities operate within the context of the rule of law.
7. 872. The Government considers in this regard that care is required when drawing conclusions. The fact is that criminal acts, committed by gangs and delinquents, occur in all societies, and that the law enforcement agencies in each country are continually engaged in combating such acts. In Costa Rica, all administrative and legal proceedings are concluded when all the various stages have been completed, and not before. Bypassing due process, as laid down by law, in administrative or judicial matters would be unconstitutional. Within the context of the rule of law, Costa Rica guarantees the free exercise of basic human rights, including internationally recognized workers’ rights.
8. 873. The Government adds that, as the allegations involve what are presumed to be criminal offences, unrelated to labour matters, article 153 of the Political Constitution provides that it shall be the responsibility of the judicial authorities, in addition to their other constitutional functions, to investigate criminal acts, irrespective of their nature and the status of those involved, to reach final conclusions and to ensure the implementation of their rulings, where necessary with the assistance of the forces of order. The Government attaches a report of the OIJ, dated 30 June 2006, which contains the following indications:
9. … in relation to the acts committed in the offices of the Rerum Novarum Confederation of Workers (CTRN), the undersigned wish to inform you that, from the moment that the Unit was notified of the regrettable situation of the staff of this important organization, the case was accorded the attention normally given in such cases, with immediate action being organized with a view to the swift resolution of the case.
10. Complaint No. 000-06-10756 has been received and the case is being dealt with by Officers Luis Jaramillo Granados and Marco Carrión Hernández, both distinguished investigators in the Armed Robbery Branch of the Property Crimes Section of the Criminal Investigation Department who, in the document with the single reference N’06-010572-042-PE, on 21 June last submitted a report on the action taken up to now to the Public Prosecutor for Armed Robbery of the Department of the Public Prosecutor.
11. The report indicates that on 24 May, the date on which the staff referred to above in the offices of the Rerum Novarum Confederation of Workers were the victims of armed robbery, officers of the Physical Investigation and Evidence Gathering Section went to the scene of the crime to proceed with the investigation and seek evidence, take photographs and search for fingerprints, on the basis of which they compiled a report on the investigation, the damages suffered and the evidence.
12. In addition, the five officials who had been the victims of the assault and theft were interviewed, as well as the owners and staff of several shops in the vicinity to determine any possible parallels with other recent crimes. It was found that the two persons who had attacked the premises of the Rerum Novarum Confederation of Workers on that date may have carried out similar robberies in other buildings, in all cases stealing personal computers and the personal effects of the employees or officials, including mobile telephones, watches, cash, etc.
13. However, despite the interviews and the photographic identification carried out with two CTRN officials, with a view to determining whether any of the suspects could be identified from the Unit’s records, no positive identification was obtained.
14. The staff of the above police unit are still assigned to the investigation, under the direction of the Department of the Public Prosecutor, with a view to identifying those responsible for the crimes. When any results are achieved, they will be reported.
15. 874. The Government reaffirms that it explicitly condemns all criminal acts and applies the law rigorously in all cases in which those who have committed such crimes are identified. In view of the above, the Government calls for the complaint to be set aside.

C. The Committee’s conclusions

1. 875. The Committee observes that in this complaint the ICFTU alleges that the headquarters of the CTRN was raided by two armed persons (who talked to a person outside over a mobile telephone). The attackers tied up and made death threats to two trade union leaders (Mr Alejandro López and Mr Tyronne Esna) and three employees of the CTRN, stealing their personal effects and documents and removing a computer containing information of great value to the CTRN, while they searched and emptied out the filing cabinets in all the offices.
2. 876. The Committee notes the Government’s statements, according to which: (1) it condemns all criminal acts; (2) although the case concerns armed robbery committed on trade union premises and the alleged intimidation of union officials and workers who were present, care should be taken when reaching conclusions, as these were criminal acts committed by gangs and delinquents, which are outside the competence of the ILO; (3) the OIJ reports that two of its investigators (officials from the Armed Robbery Branch of the Property Crimes Section of the Criminal Investigation Department) proceeded to the scene of the crime that very day (24 May 2006) and that they interviewed those present on the trade union premises and carried out the appropriate investigations (searching for prints, taking photographs, etc.); according to the OIJ, the two assailants may have carried out similar attacks in other buildings, stealing computers and personal effects, as in the case of the CTRN; according to the OIJ, two CTRN officials were not able to identify the suspects from the OIJ’s (photographic) records; (4) the investigation is continuing under the direction of the Department of the Public Prosecutor.
3. 877. The Committee deplores the seriousness of the alleged acts, which include death threats against five CTRN officials and employees, the theft of their personal effects, the searching of the filing cabinets in the CTRN offices and the theft of a computer and the organization’s files. The Committee considers that it does not yet have at its disposal sufficient grounds to determine with any certainty whether these criminal acts had an anti-trade union purpose or whether, as the Government believes, they could be criminal acts resulting from delinquency. The Committee recalls that cases relating to death threats against trade union members and theft from trade union organizations or members are matters in respect of which it is fully competent and that they require judicial investigations to be carried out with a view to shedding 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, determining where responsibilities lie, punishing the guilty parties, preventing the repetition of similar events and returning the stolen property.
4. 878. Under these conditions, the Committee, noting the investigations undertaken, expects that they will lead to the identification of the motives behind the crime and of those responsible as soon as possible and that the persons concerned will be severely punished, and it requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in the investigations and of any related court rulings.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 879. In the light of its foregoing conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) The Committee deplores the seriousness of the alleged acts, which include death threats against five CTRN officials and employees, the theft of their personal effects, the searching of the filing cabinets of the CTRN offices and the theft of a computer and the organization’s files.
   • (b) The Committee expects that the investigations undertaken will lead to the identification of the motives behind the crime, those responsible being identified and severely punished, as well as the return of the stolen property, and it requests the Government to keep it informed of the progress made in the investigations and of any related court rulings.