Commission concludes that Mr. Vélez Loor was prevented from exhausting these remedies because he was arrested and then forbidden to use the telephone or have any other contact with the world outside his prison. Consequently, the requirement of exhaustion of remedies under domestic law is not applicable to the petitioner in accordance with the exception enshrined in Article 46.2.b of the American Convention. b. The petitioner is asserting that he lacked the means to pay for a lawyer to take his case before Panamanian courts 44. The petitioner also adduces the extreme state of hardship in which Mr. Vélez Loor found himself as justification for not being required to exhaust domestic remedies in Panama in addition to invoking the impossibility of gaining access to the justice system or of challenging by legal means his arrest and subsequent expulsion. According to the case file, Mr. Vélez Loor lives off selling different kinds of articles as an itinerant trader and he receives no support from his family. It is a matter of record that Mr. Vélez Loor lives in a room which he rents with other people and that he is in declining health. He alleges that his economic situation does not allow him to have the medical treatment that he requires. One day he fainted and one of the people with whom he rents the room found him lying on the floor. 9 The petitioner alleges that Mr. Vélez Loor has received no medical attention since the cruel violations of human rights to which he was subjected in Panama. According to his lawyer, Mr. Vélez Loor complains of numerous ailments and there are a number of movements that he cannot make easily, for example, he cannot stoop down as the blood pressure in his head hurts him, or turn to one side when he is lying down as his spine causes him pain.10 Moreover, according to the complaint, the after-effects of the torture have led to a number of relapses which have prevented him from carrying out his work as he otherwise would. 45. With regard to indigent cases, the Inter-American Court has pointed out that a State that fails to provide free legal advice in cases of indigence may not later argue that a given remedy was available but not utilized.11 In particular, the Inter-American Court has pointed out that if an individual requires legal aid to protect a right guaranteed by the Convention and his indigence prevents him from obtaining it, he is relieved of responsibility for exhausting domestic remedies.12 Mr. Vélez Loor was sentenced in Panama to a prison term for having repeatedly entered Panama in an illegal fashion. Due process requires that someone against whom charges are made must have the right to defend himself personally or be helped by a defense attorney of his own choosing and if he does not do so he has the inalienable right of being helped by a defense lawyer provided by the State, whether or not pro bono under domestic law.13 Given that Mr. Vélez Loor was not Panamanian, it is obvious that he needed to retain a Panamanian lawyer to defend himself against the charges brought against him in Panama. This is how the Convention guarantees the right to legal aid in legal proceedings. 14 Although Mr. Vélez Loor has been provided with legal aid to bring his case before the Commission, he was able to document the difficulty he had obtaining legal aid, particularly at the time of his arrest and throughout the period of his detention in Panama. 46. Consequently, based on the terms of Article 48 of the Convention and Article 31 of the Rules of Procedure, in reviewing the case, particularly taking into account the fact that Mr. Vélez Loor was unable to exhaust domestic remedies as he was deprived of liberty and was without legal counsel, the IACHR finds in favor of applying the exception provided for in Article 46.2.b of the American Convention, given that the party alleging violation of his rights has been denied access to the remedies under domestic law or has been prevented from exhausting them. 3. Period for filing the petition 47. In accordance with the provisions of Article 46.1.b of the Convention, admission by the Commission of a complaint shall be subject to the following requirements –namely, that the 9 Letter from Mr. José Villagrán, attorney for Mr. Vélez Loor dated November 7, 2005. 10 Ibid. 11 I/A Court H.R., Exceptions to the Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies (Art. 6.1, 46.2.a, and 46.2.b of the American Convention on Human Rights). Advisory Opinion OC-11/90 of August 10, 1990, para. 28. 12 Ibid., para. 31. 13 Ibid., para. 25. 14 Ibid. 9