petitioners claim that these facts would be violations of Articles 2 (duty to adopt domestic legislative measures), 4 (right to life), 5 (right to humane treatment), 8.1 (right to a fair trial), 24 (right to equal protection), and 25 (right to judicial protection) in connection with Article 1 (obligation to respect rights) of the American Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” or “the American Convention”) to the detriment of the alleged victim. 3. The State, for its part, presented no arguments concerning the criminal proceeding or the death sentence pronounced on the alleged victim, nor did it address the alleged torture charged by the petitioners. Concerning the summary execution, the State considers that, as it was told by the appropriate authorities, the death of Mr. Ruiz Fuentes was probably caused by private parties motivated by personal revenge, and that the exception to prior exhaustion of domestic remedies alleged by the petitioners is inapplicable because the internal proceeding is ongoing, currently in the phase of investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. 4. Without prejudging the merits of the case, the IACHR concluded that the petition is admissible with regard to the alleged violation of the rights guaranteed in Articles 4 (right to life), 5 (right to humane treatment), 8.1 (right to a fair trial), and 25 (right to judicial protection) of the American Convention, in connection with the general obligation established in Article 1.1 of the same treaty and Articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, to the detriment of Hugo Humberto Ruiz Fuentes. The Commission decided to transmit this decision to the parties, to publish it, and to include it in its Annual Report to the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. II. PROCESSING BY THE COMMISSION 5. Processing began when the Inter-American Commission—in the framework of the Report on Merits N° 49/03—directed the Executive Secretariat to prepare a certified extract of the proceedings concerning Mr. Hugo Humberto Ruiz Fuentes (hereinafter the “alleged victim”) in that case file for separate processing, as the petitioners’ request of January 2, 2003, to include Mr. Ruiz Fuentes as a victim in that case was deemed untimely.2 [2] 6. On July 19, 2004, the IACHR received a communication from a public defender of the Institute for Public Criminal Defense in Guatemala, reporting that “an appeal for executive clemency [for Hugo Humberto Ruiz Fuentes] submitted to President Oscar Berger on December 16, 2003, has not been decided as of this date, so we have exhausted domestic remedies.” 7. On July 26, 2004 the Commission sent the State of Guatemala a copy of this extract under petition number 652/04, giving it two months to present any comments. 8. On November 10, 2006, the IACHR received additional information from the petitioners, in which they requested the inclusion of new violations of human rights to the detriment of Mr. Ruiz Fuentes. The petitioners’ note was forwarded to the State on December 18, 2006, giving it one month to present any comments. 2 IACHR, Report on Merits Nº 49/03, Case 12.402 Ronald Ernesto Raxcacó Reyes, Guatemala, October 8, 2003, paras. 28-30. 2