even speak with the guard.” 49 On another occasion, he described having been held in solitary confinement “for 17 days” in a dungeon with unknown individuals. 50 At the public hearing (supra para. 9), Mr. Cortez added that he was beaten with socks filled with some kind of material, which he believed to be sand. 55. In a 2012 statement, Mr. Cortez added: One night, a lower-level guard [...] came to my cell (...), recognized me, and asked me what I was doing there. I told him I had been detained for a few days and asked that he get in touch with my family. It was through him that my family found out where I was and what the conditions were like, after which they secured an attorney for my defense. After 19 days, I was taken to make my statement before the military judge while I was in an utterly deplorable state. I indicate[d] that I had no knowledge of the crime and certainly did not admit to having participated in it. I was detained for five months and three weeks at the air base. 51 56. On August 11, 1997, Mr. Cortez submitted a document to the Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone. In it, he requested that he be kept detained in the military base for the time being, as he believed that his life would be in danger in “the men’s prison” because he was ex-military. In that same action, he requested that his preventive detention be terminated. He noted that both he and his family were suffering “genuine emotional and psychological trauma with harmful consequences.” 52 57. The file contains a request by Mr. Cortez to the Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone that a bail amount be set for his release. 53 Bail was set by the judge on December 17, 1997. 54 After the payment of USD 1,500.00 (one thousand five hundred United States dollars) on December 18, 1997, the Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone ordered the release of Mr. Cortez, which occurred on December 19, 1997. 55 58. On November 23, 1998, the Military Court of Law of the First Aerial Zone decided that it would hear the case. It declared that it had jurisdiction and called the defendants to a criminal trial “for not having proven that they did not participate in the crime [under investigation].” 56 49 Statements made on March 8, 2012, supra. The witness Guerrero Aguirre noted that he took food to Mr. Cortez once and that the military base where he was detained was not a detention center and did not meet standards for ensuring adequate nutrition for Mr. Cortez. He stated that Mr. Cortez had to pay for his food and that “[m]any times they gave him leftovers and sometimes nothing at all” (written witness testimony of Galo Leonardo Guerrero Aguirre, evidence file, folios. 1075–1082). Mr. Cortez’s wife also stated that he had to pay for his food (written statement of Eugenia Magdalena López Gutiérrez, supra). 50 National Police of Ecuador, National Directorate of Judicial Police and Investigations, Medical Legal Department, Forensic Psychological Report No. 2013-892, carried out on July 16, 19, 24, and 19, 2013 (evidence file, annex 4 to the pleadings and motions brief, folios 832–836). The document shows that Mr. Cortez stated, as he did on other occasions, that his captors knocked loudly on his door to keep him from sleeping and that they gave him food that had been spit on. 51 Statement made on March 8, 2012, supra. 52 Document from Mr. Cortez seeking the termination of his pretrial detention, addressed to the Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone, submitted in military criminal trial 03-97 (evidence file, annex 3 to the Merits Report, folios 138–140). This document is undated, but the Commission and the representatives indicated that it was submitted on August 11, 1997. 53 Document from Mr. Cortez requesting that a bail amount be set, addressed to the Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone, submitted in criminal trial 03-97 (evidence file, annex 3 to the Merits Report, folio 176). 54 Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone, Order of December 17, 1997, setting bail for the defendants in the case (evidence file, annex 3 to the Merits Report, folio 196). 55 Military Criminal Court of the First Aerial Zone, Order of December 19, 1997 (evidence file, annex 3 to the Merits Report, folio 203). The defendants were ordered to remain within the First Aerial Zone jurisdiction for the duration of the trial. 56 Military Court of Law of the First Aerial Zone, Decision initiating military criminal trial 03-97, from November 23, 1998 (evidence file, annex 3 to the Merits Report, folios 247 and 248). 15