44 Portugal, Mr. Portugal’s daughter, testified at the Court’s public hearing: “my mother, carrying my brother, and I went to the prisons to look for him, and to the hospitals […]. We went to all the prisons, and they said he was not there.”137 Patria Portugal also stated: I have suffered so much from the loss of my father, not from his death itself […], more than from his death, from his disappearance, the fact that he was beaten, tortured, disappeared, leaving his family unprotected and not knowing where he was. This is the greatest crime of all because we did not where he was.138 169. Franklin Portugal also testified with regard to his sister and his mother: My mother [Graciela De León] suffered a great deal, and the effects of her husband’s disappearance remain with her still. She suffers from nerves and high blood pressure. My sister has also suffered a lot; I always found her crying, thinking that my father would return some day.139 Regarding the effect that the disappearance of Heliodoro Portugal had on his next of kin, the psychologist, Jacqueline Riquelme, indicated that, until the body was found, the disappearance allowed the next of kin to hope that they would find their loved one alive; but the “alive/dead” status of the disappeared did not allow them to experience the natural mourning process and to end a long process of pain and separation.140 170. The State’s actions in response to the efforts of Mr. Portugal’s next of kin added to the suffering caused by his disappearance. 171. In this regard, Franklin Portugal De León stated that his mental and moral integrity had been affected by the fact that “there has not been a definite response [from the State about what happened to his father] and the guilty parties remain free and unpunished.” Franklin Portugal receives psychiatric and medical care to treat these effects.141 172. Moreover, regarding Patria Portugal, the psychologist, Jacqueline Riquelme, testified: In the psychological reactions of the daughter Patria, who was the most active in the search for truth, one can observe defense mechanisms, predominantly of disassociation while filing the report and during the judicial proceedings, alternating with periods of depression, rage, hyperactivity and despair, especially because of the impossibility of obtaining justice and recognition.142 173. As stated in the previous chapter (supra paras. 152-159), in addition to failing to diligently investigate the disappearance in order to clarify what happened, determine those responsible and punish them, the State cast doubt publicly on the results of the first DNA test that identified the remains found in the Tocumen barracks in 1999 as those of Heliodoro Portugal (supra paras. 97 and 131). This caused Heliodoro Portugal’s next of kin anxiety, anguish, frustration, and feelings of powerlessness, since the only action taken by the State in more than nine years was directed at refuting the results of the DNA tests that the next 137 Testimony given by Patria Portugal before the Inter-American Court, supra note 44. 138 Testimony given by Patria Portugal before the Inter-American Court, supra note 44. 139 Statement made before notary public by the witness Franklin Portugal De León on December 28, 2007 (file of affidavits and the corresponding observations, f. 8919). 140 Cf. Testimony given by the psychologist, Jacqueline Riquelme Caniuñir, supra note 136. 141 Cf. Testimony given by Franklin Portugal De León, supra note 139, f. 8920. 142 Testimony given by the psychologist, Jacqueline Riquelme Caniuñir, supra note 136, f. 9096.