CAT/C/72/D/992/2020 United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Distr.: General 7 February 2022 English Original: Spanish Committee against Torture Decision adopted by the Committee under article 22 of the Convention, concerning communication No. 992/2020*, ** Communication submitted by: Damián Gallardo Martínez, on his own behalf and on that of his four minor children (M.M.B.H., L.K.G.C., X.K.G.C. and E.R.K.G.C.); Yolanda Barranco Hernández (his partner); Gregorio Gallardo Vásquez and Felicitas Martínez Vargas (his parents); and his five siblings, Florencia, Felicita, Idolina, Violeta and Saúl Gallardo Martínez (represented by Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca, the World Organization against Torture and the Mexican Commission for the Defence and Promotion of Human Rights) Alleged victims: The complainants and the four minors State party: Mexico Date of complaint: 17 May 2019 (initial submission) Date of adoption of decision: 18 November 2021 Subject matter: Arbitrary detention and torture Procedural issues: Failure to exhaust domestic remedies Substantive issues: Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; State party’s obligation to prevent acts of torture; State party’s obligation to ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation; right to reparation and compensation; statements obtained under torture Articles of the Convention: 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 1. The complainants are Damián Gallardo Martínez, acting on his own behalf and on behalf of his four minor children (M.M.B.H., L.K.G.C., X.K.G.C. and E.R.K.G.C.); his partner, Yolanda Barranco Hernández; his parents, Gregorio Gallardo Vásquez and Felicitas Martínez Vargas; and his five siblings, Florencia, Felicita, Idolina, Violeta and Saúl Gallardo Martínez. They are all nationals of Mexico. Mr. Gallardo Martínez was born in 1969 and is a defender of the right to education and the rights of indigenous peoples. The complainants * Adopted by the Committee at its seventy-second session (8 November–3 December 2021). ** The following members of the Committee participated in the examination of the communication: Essadia Belmir, Erdoğan İşcan, Liu Huawen, Ilvija Pūce, Ana Racu, Sébastien Touzé, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov and Peter Vedel Kessing. GE.22-01556 (E) 010322 010322