was the last opportunity for Luís García Meza to make a statement before a competent authority and under oath regarding the events of July 17, 1980. 24. The petitioner also stated that the prosecutor has acted as a “decorative figure” in the process, without adequately assuming his accusatory role, due among other reasons to staff turnover. She specified that the prosecutor was replaced eleven times during the process. She noted that for his part the judge incorrectly assessed the evidence and improperly defined the criminal conduct, resulting in the acquittal of some of the accused and the imposition of minimal penalties on most of the accused. 25. She added that despite the fact that the impetus for prosecution belonged to the State, throughout the investigation the alleged victim’s relatives had to fill in the gaps created by the inactivity of the Office of the Public Prosecutor and to pay court costs such as stamps, summonses, and notarization, and even had to bear the cost of transporting the accused for their appearances at hearings. She stated that due to the State’s unwillingness to assume its obligations, the relatives of the alleged victim felt defenseless because their financial situation makes it very difficult for them to continue assuming legal costs. 26. Finally, she alleged that in the context of the process, no efforts were made to find and return the mortal remains of Mr. Flores Bedregal. On this point, the petitioner stated that in the context of the criminal proceeding being conducted, the relatives of the alleged victim asked the Ministry of Defense to declassify the files which should contain information on his remains, since Mr. Flores Bedregal was last seen at the Army General Staff and those who carried out the assault on the COB were soldiers. She added that after she filed the complaint with the Inter-American Commission, she was told that that Ministry would declassify the files, but that so far no concrete measures have been taken in this regard. 27. She emphasized that when the criminal process was in the appeals phase, the respective judge ordered the declassification of the army intelligence files at the request of the family of the alleged victim, a process now under way. In a more recent communication, the petitioner reported that the army did not carry out the decision, arguing that a reasoned court order was required. She mentioned that this order was denied them because the court official who issued the order had already lost jurisdiction in the appeals phase, and the process is pending decision in the Supreme Court of Justice. 28. According to the petitioner, the facts related constitute violations of Articles 1.1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the American Convention. In a more recent communication, the petitioner alleged a violation of the right to equal treatment on the part of the Executive, since it has consistently ordered a search for Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz without assigning importance to the disappearance of the alleged victim, despite the similar circumstances under which they disappeared. B. 29. petition. State The State referred to two proceedings related to the events recounted in the 30. It stated that pursuant to a Congressional Resolution dated February 25, 1986 with respect to the events that occurred at the COB, Luís García Meza (former President of the Republic), Luís Arce Gómez (former Minister of the Interior, Migration, and Justice), and others were accused of the murder of Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz, Carlos Flores Bedregal, and Gualberto Vega. It stated that on April 21, 1993 the Supreme Court of Justice handed down a conviction for the crimes of murder, armed insurrection against the security and