12. At the same time, they allege that the circumstances surrounding Mrs. Rúa and her family’s displacement from their permanent place of residence had an adverse effect on the emotional development of her daughters, who had had seen their rights affected under the dispositions of Article 19 of the Convention. 13. With respect to the exhaustion of domestic remedies, the petitioners indicate that Mrs. Rúa denounced the violation to which she had been subjected to the Human Rights Office of the Departmental Attorney and denounced the looting of her house and displacement to the Sectional Attorney of Medellín. The Assistant Attorney of the 70 th Sectional Office initiated an investigation before the Criminal Circuit Judges of Medellín into the displacement and the looting of Mrs. Rúa’s home under File 585,996. The petitioners indicate that during 2004 the case was provisionally suspended.7 They point out that the Special Prosecutor did not initiate any investigation and that the complaint was simply referred to Social Solidarity Network (Red Social de Solidaridad).8 On this point, they indicate that from the date the events occurred to the present time, the criminal investigation has produced no results whatsoever, and for this reason they allege the violation by the State of the right to a fair trial and to judicial protection as well as the application for exception from the requirement of prior exhaustion of domestic remedies in Article 46.2 on the grounds of unwarranted delay. 14. They point out that, two years after the facts of the case took place, Mrs. Miryam Eugenia Rúa Figueroa continued to be displaced owing to the danger posed in returning to her community. She is unable to use or freely enjoy her home and the State has not provided a housing subsidy to make good her needs. In this regard, they allege that the Colombian State has failed to comply with its role of protecting its citizens by denying the humanitarian assistance to which Mrs. Rúa and her family were entitled to under the law. 15. In view of the above, the petitioners request that the State be declared responsible for the violations of the rights to humane treatment, freedom of association, private property, movement and residence, fair trial, judicial protection, participation in government and the prohibition against the suspension of political rights established in the IACDH to the detriment of Miryam Eugenia Rúa Figueroa, as well as the violations of the rights established under Articles 5, 8, 21, 22, 25 of the Convention to the detriment of Gustavo de Jesús Tobón Meneses, Bárbara del Sol Palacios Rúa, Manuela Palacios Rúa and Valentina Tobón Rúa; and under Article 19 of the same instrument to the detriment of her daughters who are minors of age. B. Position of the State 16. The State considers that its officials are not responsible for the alleged violations and that it is fulfilling its duty to investigate the facts of the matter and it has adopted measures to prevent the human rights of the inhabitants of Comuna 13 being violated, fulfilling its duties to provide protection and guarantees. 9 In this regard, it emphasizes that the situation of Comuna 13 has been complex and that, in spite of the efforts made by the State to restore normality and recover its unfettered authority, this has not been easy, adding that the crimes that impact most on the area are homicide,10 terrorism, kidnapping, extortion and the looting of property. It was for these circumstances that police operations were intensified so as to restore order in the Comuna 13 through special operations that were carried out in strict compliance with its duty to offer security and provide protection. 7 Original petition received by the IACHR on October 27, 2004, page 7. The petitioners indicate that, by note No. 19907, dated October 25, 2002, the Social Solidarity Network turned down Mrs. Rúa’s request for humanitarian assistance, as it did not meet the requirements established by law. Article 15 of law 418, of 1997, extended by Law 548, of 1999, stipulates that: “for the purposes of this law, victims are any persons in the civilian population who suffer from damage in their lives, serious deterioration of their personal safety and/or property, as a result of acts that may arise in the context of internal armed conflict, including, among terrorist attacks, combat, assaults, and massacres, among others.” Communication RSS-AGM-19907 from the Social Solidarity Network, dated October 25, 2002. Annex to the original complaint received by the IACHR on October 27, 2004. 9 Note DDH.GOI/56107/2586 submitted by the State, received November 1, 2006 by the IACHR. 10 Between January and mid-2002, 437 homicides were registered in Comuna 13. Written observation by the State DDH.GOI/60162/2802 received by the IACHR on December 12, 2006. 8 3