2 II. PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COMMISSION FOLLOWING THE REPORT ON ADMISSIBILITY 6. The Commission adopted the Admissibility Report No. 1/03 on February 20, 2003. The report was forwarded to the petitioners and the State on April 4, 2003. In those communications, the Commission made itself available to the parties for facilitating a friendly settlement and asked the petitioners to submit their observations on the merits within two months. The petitioners sent their comments on report No. 1/03 through communication received on July 17, 2003. That information was forwarded to the State in communication dated October 9, 2003. 7. On October 17, 2003, during the 118th regular period of sessions of the Commission, a hearing was held in which the State expressed its interest in opening dialog with the petitioners toward reaching a friendly settlement. Subsequently various work meetings were held between the parties; the first, on March 5, 2004, during the 119th regular session, the second on March 2, 2005, during the 122th regular session and, the third on October 19, 2005, during the 123th regular session of the Commission. In that latter meeting, the petitioners informed the Commission of their desire to terminate the friendly settlement process, because of the lack of progress made, specifically on the part of the Argentine State. This was reaffirmed in their communication dated October 13, 2005. At the request of the State, the Commission invited the parties to a work meeting which took place during the work visit to Argentina between December 3 and 8, 2006. 8. Following the closure of the friendly settlement the Commission asked the State, on January 27, 2007, to present its observations on the merits within two months. On March 7, 2007, the Commission awarded the State the deadline extension it requested, for a period of an additional month. The State submitted its response on May 23, 2007, which was forwarded to the petitioners on June 5, 2007. They in turn sent a response on July 5, 2007, which was forwarded to the State on August 1 of the same year. On October 11, 2007, during the 130th regular session of the Commission, another meeting was held between the parties. 9. On August 12, 2009, the petitioners sent additional information which was forwarded to the State on the 21st of the same month. The State sent its response on November 4, 2009, which was forwarded to the petitioners on the 23rd of the same month. The petitioners sent their response through communication dated December 23, 2009. This response was duly forwarded to the State for its information. 10. On March 19, 2010, a hearing was held, during the 138th regular session of the Commission, in which the petitioners and the relatives of Mr. Jorge Omar Gutiérrez, as well as representatives of the federal government participated. 11. Through communication dated August 24, 2010, the Commission requested specific information on the case from the petitioners. The petitioners responded to the request and it was forwarded to the State. III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES A. Positions of the petitioners 12. The petitioners maintain that Jorge Omar Gutiérrez, then Deputy Commissioner of the Police of the Province of Buenos Aires, was murdered on August 29, 1994, at the hands of agents of the State. They claim that his death was brought about to stop the investigations that the victim was carrying out in which high-ranking government officials were implicated in acts of corruption. 13. The petitioners reported that on August 29, 1994, at approximately 00:15 hours, Deputy Commissioner Gutiérrez left the Second Police Precinct of Avellaneda in Buenos Aires province. Approximately 15 minutes later, he bordered a train that would take him to the town of Quilmes, where he lived with his wife and three children.