15. The petitioners recount that after walking for three days, the Bonilla family and the Bonilla and Ayala children reached the outskirts of Quebrada Seca. Having no food, they decided to stop and eat some sugar cane and rest a while. In the meantime, the sister and parents of Manuel Antonio Bonilla opted to continue moving and told those who were resting that they would wait for them up ahead. As they advanced, however, they realized that they were walking in the direction of the soldiers, and decided to hide for a time. The petitioners report that the group that had stayed behind to eat sugar cane decided to hide in Quebrada Seca, where military troops found them. The troops surrounded them and opened fire, killing some of them. Others managed to escape. The troops captured six of them. They released three of the six but took away Mrs. María Esperanza Alvarado and the boys Manuel Antonio Bonilla Osorio and Ricardo Ayala Abarca. Since then, their whereabouts have been unknown. 16. The petitioners point out that the disappearance of Manuel Antonio Bonilla Osorio and Ricardo Ayala Abarca occurred amid a severe internal armed conflict in El Salvador, and specifically during the execution of a sweeping military operation. The petitioners report that in the wake of that military operation, Salvadoran military forces continued to persecute and oppress families living in the Department of San Vicente. 17. The petitioners point out that these people had no way to speak with an attorney because they were in hiding, struggling to save their own lives and those of the children still with them. They add that the victims’ next of kin could not have reported the violations because they were still fleeing military operatives and insurgents and for fear that if they reported what happened they would be identified as guerrilla sympathizers. The petitioners also assert that the authorities themselves could not have acted on the complaints. Therefore, the petitioners contend, it was self-evident that at the time of the children’s disappearance, a remedy suitable for determining their whereabouts was not available. Summarizing, the petitioners contend that the families could not have embarked upon a search for the disappeared children because those families were in fear for their lives. 18. The petitioners contend further that at the time, the justice system was oblivious to the protection of victims’ rights, especially in cases in which the blame was directly attributable to the State. 19. The petitioners also allege that the names of Ricardo Ayala Abarca and Manuel Antonio Bonilla appear on the lists of victims identified by indirect sources, and classified as homicides that occurred on August 18, 1982;6 this indicates that while the next of kin did not go directly to the Truth Commission, they did approach other organizations to report that both children were the victims of actions taken by the Armed Forces of El Salvador. 20. The petitioners observe that, armed with additional information and having regained confidence in the Salvadoran courts, Mrs. Petronila Abarca Alvarado, mother of Ricardo Ayala Abarca, and Mrs. María de los Ángeles Osorio, mother of Manuel Antonio Bonilla, filed petitions of habeas corpus with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court on February 18 and 27, 2003, respectively.7 The petitioners observe that the habeas corpuspetitions were dismissed, on the grounds that the evidence produced was not sufficient to enable the Chamber to establish probable cause regarding the alleged forced disappearances and on the 6 To support their argument, the petitioners sent Volume II, #6 “List of Victims Submitted to the Commission on the Truth, C. Indirect Source,” pp. 16 and 20 (Spanish version) of the Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, United Nations, San Salvador, New York. The Commission notes that according to the Commission on the Truth, the Bonilla and Ayala boys were killed on August 18, 1982; however, the petitioners have consistently claimed that Manuel Antonio Bonilla Osorio, his family and others, among them Ricardo Ayala, had fled their community on August 19, 1982, as the military operation that would be carried out in the Department of San Vicente was about to begin. 7 The record in the case file shows that the first petition of habeas corpus, number 18-2003, was filed by Mrs. Petronila Abarca Alvarado on behalf of Ricardo Ayala Abarca; the second petition of habeas corpus, number 25-2003, was filed by the widowed Mrs. María de los Ángeles Osorio Bonilla. In both cases, the rulings on the petitions state that the petitioners produced birth certificates for both children, Manuel Antonio Bonilla and Ricardo Ayala Abarca, prov ing their existence. 3