34 facts. The Commission notes that on several occasions this evidence was disallowed on the grounds that it was not relevant or of importance. In this regard, the Commission highlights the importance, in accordance with the principle of presumption of innocence which involves all authorities conducting a process, that any criminal investigation should allow the presentation and analysis of the evidence that may be favorable or unfavorable to the person prosecuted. 142. In light of the above considerations, the Commission concludes that the State of El Salvador did violate, with respect to Mr. José Agapito Ruano Torres, the right to the presumption of innocence established in Article 8.2 of the American Convention, in conjunction with Article 1.1 thereof. 2. The right of defense 143. Article 8.2.d of the American Convention establishes the “right of the accused to defend himself personally or to be assisted by legal counsel of his own choosing, and to communicate freely and privately with his counsel.” 144. In this regard, the Inter-American Court has ruled that the right to defense must necessarily be exercised from the moment a person is accused of perpetrating or participating in an unlawful action and only ends when the proceeding concludes.179 In addition, once the accused has been provided with public defense counsel, it must be effective, for which purpose the State must adopt all the appropriate measures.180 145. The Inter-American Commission, the Human Rights Committee, and the European Court have established that states cannot be held responsible for all the failings of public defense counsel.181 Nevertheless, the appointment of public defense counsel alone does not ensure the right to effective assistance.182 As the Court has ruled, the appointment of defense counsel for the sole purpose of complying with a procedural formality would be tantamount to not having technical legal representation; therefore, it is imperative that defense counsel act diligently in order to protect the procedural guarantees of the accused and thereby prevent their rights from being violated.183 Thus, the State is responsible if public defenders incur in omissions or failings that evidently allow the conclusion that effective assistance was not rendered.184 146. In the case at hand, it has been seen that the public defense team filed no actions, either at the initial hearing, the preliminary hearing, or the pre-trial hearing, to assert the central point of Mr. José Agapito Ruano Torres’s defense: that is, the argument that the person who participated in 179 I/A Court H. R., Case of Cabrera García and Montiel Flores v. Mexico, Judgment of November 26, 2010, Series C No. 220, para. 154; I/A Court H. R., Case of Barreto Leiva v. Venezuela, Judgment of November 17, 2009, Series C No. 206, paragraph 29; I/A Court H. R., Case of Suárez Rosero v. Ecuador, Judgment of November 12, 1997, Series C No. 35, para. 71; I/A Court H. R., Case of Heliodoro Portugal v. Panama, Judgment of August 12, 2008, Series C No. 186, para. 148; I/A Court H. R., Case of Bayarri v. Argentina, Judgment of October 30, 2008, Series C No. 187, para. 105; and I/A Court H. R., Case of Barreto Leiva v. Venezuela, Judgment of November 17, 2009, Series C No. 206, para. 62. 180 I/A Court H. R., Case of Cabrera García and Montiel Flores v. Mexico, Judgment of November 26, 2010, Series C No. 220, para. 154. 181 IACHR, Report No. 41/04, Case 12.417, Merits, Whitley Myrie, Jamaica, October 12, 2004, para. 62. Human Rights Committee, Byrong Young v. Jamaica, Decision of December 17, 1997, para. 5.5; and Michael Adams v. Jamaica, Decision of November 20, 1996, para. 8.4. European Court of Human Rights, Kamasinsky v. Austria, Application No. 9783/82, Judgment of 19 December 1989, para. 65. 182 European Court of Human Rights, Artico v. Italy, Application No. 6694/74, Judgment of 13 May 1980, para. 33. 183 I/A Court H. R., Case of Cabrera García and Montiel Flores v. Mexico, Judgment of November 26, 2010, Series C No. 220, para. 155. 184 IACHR, Report No. 41/04, Case 12.417, Merits, Whitley Myrie, Jamaica, October 12, 2004, para. 62.