Joel Filártiga

Joel Holden Filártiga Ferreira (15 August 1932 – 5 July 2019) was a Paraguayan doctor, artist and human rights activist. He became known for his human rights activism after his son, Joelito Filártiga, who was killed by the police during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in 1976.

Joel Filártiga
Born
Joel Holden Filártiga Ferreira

(1932-08-15)15 August 1932
Ybytimí, Paraguarí, Paraguay
Died5 July 2019(2019-07-05) (aged 86)
Asunción, Paraguay
NationalityParaguayan
Occupation(s)Doctor, artist and human rights activist

Biography

Filártiga was born in Ybytimí, Paraguarí, on 15 August 1932.[1][2] He studied medicine at the National University of Asunción, and at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.[2][3] He was a delegate of the Student Center of the Faculty of Medicine before the University Federation of Paraguay, from where he participated in the struggle against the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner.[4]

Filártiga initially became known for offering health care to poor and indigenous peasants in a clinic that he opened in 1959 in the town of Ybycuí, in Paraguarí.[3] Filártiga also was an artist.[5] Several of his works were part of special presentations in Paraguay and abroad.[1]

On 30 March 1976, Filártiga's son, Joelito, aged 17, was killed. Police claimed the murder was the result of a "crime of passion", committed by a neighborhood's policeman when he caught Joelito with his wife. However, it was later determined that Joelito was kidnapped by the police and tortured since his body exhibited marks of torture. The family Filártiga was opposed to Stroessner's regime, and therefore was persecuted.[1][2]

Filártiga fought for a long time for it to be acknowledged that his son had been murdered. In 1978, one of the main suspects, Américo Norberto Peña Irala, escaped to the United States. A daughter of Filártiga, Dolly, also went to the U.S. seeking exile. When she learned of Peña's presence in the country, the Filártiga family denounced him with the help of the Center for Constitutional Rights. In 1980, the U.S. justice ruled in favor of the Filártiga family, granting them a compensation of US$10.4 million in Filártiga v. Peña-Irala.[2][6]

He was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 television film One Man's War.[1][2][3][7]

In November 2018, he was decorated by the Senate of Paraguay, which paid him a tribute for "his unwavering fight for health, freedom and justice."[1][2][3]

Filártiga died on 5 July 2019 at age of 86, in the Social Security Institute Hospital in Asunción.[1][2][3]

References
  1. "Fallece Joel Filártiga, el hombre que peleó la "guerra" solo" [Joel Filártiga, the man who fought the "war" alone, dies]. ABC Color (in Spanish). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  2. "Fallece Joel Filártiga, un férreo opositor a la dictadura de Stroessner" [Joel Filártiga, an ironclad opponent of the Stroessner dictatorship, dies]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  3. "Falleció Joel Filártiga, un hombre que conmovió al mundo" [Joel Filártiga, a man who moved the world, passed away]. La Nación (in Spanish). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  4. "Joel Filártiga". Portal Guaraní (in Spanish).
  5. McNeill, Donald P.; Morrison, Douglas A.; Nouwen, Henri J. M. (2006). Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life. Image Books/Doubleday. pp. 135–138. ISBN 0385517521.
  6. "Filártiga v. Peña-Irala". Center for Constitutional Rights.
  7. "New York Magazine". Newyorkmetro.com. New York Media, LLC. 24: 81. 22 April 1991. ISSN 0028-7369.


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