WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has been asked to investigate whether Panama tortured an Ecuadorian citizen who was being held as an illegal immigrant , an official hemispheric human rights organization said . Jesus Tranquilino Velez Loor was arrested November 11 , 2002 , and deported to Ecuador on September 10 , 2003 . During that time , he was held without receiving procedural guarantees , the right to be heard and the right to present a defense , said the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights . `` The case also involves the lack of investigation of complaints of torture presented by Mr. Velez Loor before the Panamanian authorities , as well as the inhumane conditions of detention under which he was held in several Panamanian penitentiaries , '' the human rights commission said in a release Tuesday . The human rights panel , which is part of the 35-nation Organization of American States , said it referred the case to the court last week because Panama did not adopt sufficient measures to address issues raised in a previous commission report . Velez Loor `` was sentenced to a prison term for having repeatedly entered Panama illegally . ... Panamanian law provides that foreign nationals , who repeatedly enter Panama , without the necessary papers , will be imprisoned for two years and then deported , '' Panama said in a 2006 report . Velez Loor admitted he had gone into Panama without proper papers or visas . The commission said it received an e-mailed complaint from Velez Loor on February 10 , 2004 , `` in which he claims to have undergone torture , forced isolation , and mistreatment at the hands of Panamanian police officers at two Panamanian detention centers without being given the opportunity to defend himself , without the benefit of any court of law , without being allowed to make a telephone call and while being deprived of all medical care . '' Panama denied those allegations in the 2006 human rights commission report . Officials at the Panamanian embassy in Washington did not return a telephone request Tuesday from CNN for comment on the latest development . The human rights commission consists of seven members who act in a personal capacity , without representing any country , and who are elected by the OAS General Assembly .
Commission says it received complaint from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in two years of alleged torture . Velez Loor sentenced to prison term for illegal entry into Panama , Washington says . Officials at Ecuadorian embassy in Panama did not return request for comment .