3 couple into a police vehicle amidst blows, threats, and gunshots into the air. They claim that after being taken to the aforesaid police division, the alleged victim was subjected to torture, insults, and abuse. They further report that Rafael Salgado Castilla died on April 18, 1993, as a result of the beatings and 6 mistreatment he received at DIVISE headquarters. 11. The petitioners report that on April 17, 1993, decree laws were in force that authorized persons under investigation for terrorism or treason against the fatherland to be held incommunicado and prohibited the filing of habeas corpus suits in proceedings brought for those offenses. They state that the alleged victim was held without a court order and was not given timely notification of the reasons for her arrest or the specific charges against her. Consequently, they contend that the State is responsible for violating the rights enshrined in Articles 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6 of the American Convention, in conjunction with Article 25 thereof. 12. According to their claims, the alleged victim was subjected to interrogations during which she received blows to her head, face, arms, and lower back, her breasts were pinched, her feet were stabbed with needles, she was forcibly stripped, and objects were inserted into her vagina and anus. They state that she was submerged into a tank containing fecal matter, hung by her feet and hands, and that on several occasions she suffered convulsions, hallucinations, fainting, and a loss of feeling. The petitioners claim that the police officers who participated in the interrogation had to bring Gladys Carol Espinoza back round by throwing cold water on her face and taking her to an outpatient facility. They state that the DIVISE agents threatened to harm her family and to inject her with HIV, invariably using insults and humiliation. They maintain that the alleged rape, torture, and humiliations continued after Gladys Carol Espinoza was transferred to the cells of the National Antiterrorism Directorate (DINCOTE) on April 19, 1993. 13. The petitioners claim that during her first days at the DINCOTE, Gladys Carol Espinoza was held incommunicado and that, later, she was placed with other inmates. They state that at the time, the National Police of Peru used to dress individuals suspected of belonging to insurgent organizations – such as the MRTA and the Communist Party of Peru / Shining Path – in striped prison garb and display them to the press. However, upon seeing the bruises and other signs of torture on Gladys Carol Espinoza’s body, the DINCOTE agents decided not to put her on public display. 14. The petitioners state that Gladys Carol Espinoza’s physical and mental injuries were recorded by examinations conducted by the Legal Medicine Institute and the National Police, dated April and May 1993. Those reports, they say, describe the presence of bruises on Ms. Espinoza Gonzales’s arms, the back of her hands, and face, hematoma in the parietal region, traumatic brain injury, and “a recent unnatural act.” 15. The petitioners report that between April 26 and 28, 1993, the Association for Human Rights and relatives of the alleged victim filed complaints with the offices of the Attorney General, the Special Attorney for Human Rights, and the General Inspector of the National Police. They state that the alleged victim’s mother, Mrs. Teodora Gonzales Vda. de Espinoza, went to the DINCOTE’s premises on countless occasions but was never given any information about her daughter’s whereabouts. They note that in spite of the existence of medical reports indicating post-traumatic disorders and multiple injuries to the alleged victim’s body, the State never took any steps to investigate the facts. They therefore hold that the Peruvian State is responsible for violating the rights protected by Articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention, Articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, and …continuation files, press reports, and submissions sent by the parties to the IACHR refer to this division of the police by the two names indistinctly. 6 In a communication received on September 14, 2010, the petitioners stated that the arrest, alleged torture, and extrajudicial killing of Rafael Salgado Castilla “are not subject to litigation in the case at hand, [but] they are believed to be of relevance in casting light on the allegations made by Gladys Carol Espinoza.”