3. Based on this, on February 4, 2010, the Court adopted the Rules for the Operation of the Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund of the Court, in force as of June 1, 2010, which “regulate the operation of, and access to, the [...] Fund [...] for the litigation of cases before it.” 5As established therein, in order for an alleged victim to be able to access that Fund, the following three requirements must be met: 1) the request must be made in the brief of pleadings, motions, and evidence; 2) the petitioner must demonstrate, via sworn affidavit and other probative evidence that will satisfy the Court that he or she lacks the financial resources necessary to cover the cost of litigation before the Inter-American Court; and 3) the petitioner must indicate which precise aspects of his or her defense during the process require the use of resources from the Assistance Fund of the Court. 6 4. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assistance Fund of the Court, when a request is made to use its resources, the Secretariat of the Court will carry out a preliminary examination and ask the petitioner to submit the information necessary to establish the background and submit it for the President’s consideration together with the request. The President of the Court will evaluate the petition and rule accordingly within a period of three months, as of the receipt of all of the background information required. 5. In this case, according to what the Commission indicated on submitting it before the Court, the representative is also the alleged victim of the violations allegedly committed by the State of Peru in this case. In the brief of pleadings and motions, the alleged victim stated that she “[did] not have the financial resources to cover the expenses of litigation in this matter.” In this sense, she indicated that “when examining this request, it should be taken into consideration that in this case, a) the [alleged] victim is not being represented by an organization that receive[s f]unding for that [purpose], but rather she is representing herself[ and b)] [t]hat because the Peruvian State did not reimburse her for the costs and expenses incurred in 2007 [in connection with the case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison v. Peru], she suffers from a financial deficit that has resulted in mounting debt over several years.” In support of her request, the representative and alleged victim submitted a sworn affidavit in which she "solemnly declare[d] that [she did] not have sufficient financial resources to cover the cost of litigation" and that she has "debts incurred as a result of the [alleged] persecution that [she has] been subjected to by the Peruvian State ([for example] by legally defending herself from an illegal extradition attempt in 2008), as well as all expenses during the litigation in the case of Castro Castro v. Peru, for which the State has not reimbursed costs. Likewise, she submitted a note on May 8, 2012, from a bank indicating that sufficient funds were not available to cash a check written by the alleged victim; a bank statement dated March 20, 2012, indicating a negative account, and a credit card statement from June of 2012 indicating the debt on the card. 6. The State alleged that "the sworn affidavit from the petitioner seeks to base [the need for assistance] on inexact information, [as J] has not been the victim of persecution by the Peruvian State. The State has only exercised its obligation and duty to investigate alleged criminal acts of terrorism. The expenses resulting from this are the result of her decision to not appear before national authorities.” It indicated that "the petitioner seeks to demonstrate an alleged lack of financial resources with simply a monthly bank statement, which does not truly reflect an economic and financial situation.” It highlighted that "the fact that the petitioner is not represented by an organization […] is due solely and exclusively to her own decision and cannot be blamed on the State nor cited as a reason for lack of 5 Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the Operation of the Victims' Legal Assistance Fund, approved by the Court on February 4, 2010, Article 1. 6 Cf. Rules of Procedure of the Assistance Fund, supra note 5, Article 2. 3