Seeking Justice Elsewhere
While criminal charges were never filed against the agents who killed Anastasio, the family has not given up hope of gaining a measure of justice. In March 2011, they filed a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court alleging that Anastasio was deprived of his constitutional rights. The case lingered in the court system for 6 years. Ultimately, the family accepted an offer from the US government to pay $1 million to Anastasio's children.
Five years later, in March 2016, Anastasio's family (with the aid of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley and Alliance San Diego) also filed a petition against the United States before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Anastasio Petition). The commission's principal function is to promote and defend human rights in the Americas. The petition claims that Anastasio was tortured and arbitrarily deprived of his life and asks the Commission to investigate the United States for human rights violations. The Commission took up the case and is currently conducting an investigation.
Poster of event to discuss the killing of Anastasio and the case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
[imagecaption]The event was organized by the Berkeley Law. It featured Anastasio's partner Maria Puga, as well as speakers from the Berkeley International Human Rights Law Clinic and Alliance San Diego, the groups that filed the petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.[/imagecaption]