4 12. The public hearing took place at the seat of the Court on September 16, 1995, at which there appeared, for the Government of the Republic of Guatemala: Acisclo Valladares-Molina, Agent Vicente Arranz-Sánz, Alternate Agent Denis Alonzo-Mazariegos, Assistant Ramiro Ordóñez-Jonama, Assistant Alfonso Novales-Aguirre, Assistant Cruz Munguía-Sosa, Assistant for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Claudio Grossman, Delegate David J. Padilla, Attorney Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Attorney Mark Martel, Assistant Ariel Dulitzky, Assistant Marcela Matamoros, Assistant II 13. The following paragraphs summarize the events, circumstances and processing of this case before the Commission as they were set forth in the application and its attachments submitted to the Court. 14. According to the application, in every one of the crimes alleged therein the “modus operandi” was the following: heavily armed members of the Treasury Police of Guatemala forcibly detained persons and forced them into a white van. These kidnappings took place in Guatemala City at the end of December 1987 and February 1988, with the exception of one kidnapping and execution which occurred in June 1987. In all the alleged cases, agents of the Treasury Police detained the persons without any judicial order. Some of those detained were taken to the facilities of the Treasury Police and tortured. Others were killed after being tortured, and their bodies were left in the streets or outskirts of Guatemala City a few days after the detentions. 15. On February 11, 1988, the Commission transmitted to the Government the pertinent parts of the petition, which denounced the kidnapping of Ana Elizabeth Paniagua Morales, and the Commission requested information from the Government. On February 16 of the same year, the Government answered, confirming the disappearance of the victim and the discovery of her body, stating that the competent authorities were investigating the case, but that the family had refused to provide information to contribute to the apprehension of those responsible for the crime. 16. On February 13, 1989, the petitioners sent the Commission additional information concerning the circumstances of the kidnapping of Ana Elizabeth Paniagua-Morales. They