2 observations that were transmitted to the petitioners for their knowledge. On June 28, 2010 the petitioners presented additional information which was forwarded to the State for its knowledge. III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES A. The petitioners 6. The petitioners allege that author César Gustavo Garzón Guzmán, 32, disappeared at approximately 12:00 AM, November 10, 1990, as he was heading home from the Son Candela Discotheque located at Amazonas Avenue and Reina Victoria Street in the city of Quito. The petitioners allege that, at the time these facts took place, César Gustavo Garzón was preparing his Doctoral Thesis in Literature at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. 7. The petitioners cite as precedent that on August 7, 1989, César Gustavo Garzón was detained by members of the Criminal Investigations Service of Pichincha. They allege that he was held incommunicado for four days and tortured during the first days of his detention in order to extract a confession that he was a member of an illegal armed group. The petitioners further allege that he was later transferred to the García Moreno Prison where he remained for 13 months until his release on September 7, 1990, after the judge in the case dismissed all charges due to lack of evidence. 8. The petitioners point out that, on the night of his disappearance, the mother of César Gustavo Garzón asked relatives and friends of her son whether they had heard from him, and that on the following day she went to clinics, hospitals, prisons, and even the morgue, in order to find him. They allege that at 6:00 PM, relatives of Garzón went to the Criminal Investigations Service of Pichincha to report his disappearance but that the unit had refused to take the report because it had not yet been 48 hours since his disappearance. 9. The petitioners allege that on November 14, 1990, several fellow classmates of César Gustavo Garzón reported his disappearance to various media outlets such as the newspapers El Comercio, La Hora, Últimas Noticias, Radio Quito and Radio Tarqui. According to the petitioners, on November 16, 1990, they lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigations Service of Pichincha. 10. The petitioners point out that on November 23, 1990, a complaint was lodged with the National Congress whose President sent written communication to the Director of the National Police urging that the situation be investigated. The petitioners also point out that on November 28, 1990, writers from Pichincha protested in public the disappearance of César Gustavo Garzón. Furthermore, the petitioners indicate, on November 29, 1990, a complaint was lodged with the Tribunal of Constitutional Guarantees which referred the matter to the Ministry of Government, Police and Worship. 11. The petitioners allege that on January 8, 1991, the Provincial Criminal Investigations Department of Pichincha issued a press release listing the investigations carried out to date regarding the disappearance César Gustavo Garzón, where they indicated that they had not been able to develop any evidence concerning his disappearance and that they would continue to investigate. 12. The petitioners allege that, at that point, they approached various authorities requesting that serious and exhaustive investigations be carried out to shed light on the case. Specifically, the petitioners state that they sent written communications to Ecuadorian President Rodrigo Borja on November 7, 1991 and on July 8, 1992; and to President Sixto Durán Ballén on