The Civil and Commercial Court of Appeals, Fourth Chamber, has overturned a ruling that had granted an 800 million guaranis compensation from the Paraguayan state to two victims of the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship. The decision, reached by a divided vote, annulled the July 2024 ruling by Judge Martín Acosta Conde, which had awarded 400 million guaranis each to the brothers Herminio and Celso Nicolás Melgarejo Méndez.
The brothers were detained and tortured by the police during the Stroessner regime in the 1970s. Herminio was arrested in June 1977 and Celso in March 1975, both suffering physical and psychological torture before being released. The appeal that led to the overturning was filed by the then Attorney General Marco Aurelio González and deputy prosecutor Marian Lovera on behalf of the State.
Appeals court judges Giuseppe Fossati and Miguel Ángel Rodas, who formed the majority, held that although the State has joint liability for the unlawful acts of its officials, the plaintiffs did not prove the alleged loss of earnings or property damage. They did, however, reject the State's defense arguments regarding the statute of limitations and the need to first prove the insolvency of the direct perpetrators.
Judge Enrique Mongelós dissented, arguing for the full confirmation of the first-instance ruling, which he considered to be in accordance with the law. With the overturning, the Melgarejo Méndez brothers have the option to appeal the decision to the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.