72 Vélez Loor,264 and a copy of the complaint presented before the Ombudsman's Office of Ecuador was attached to said brief (supra para. 234). The parties agree that this was the first time that the authorities of Panama heard about the allegations of torture and mistreatment. Likewise, on September 15, 2004, Mr. Vélez Loor brought the facts to the attention of the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.265 The Court notes that, in both briefs, the Panamanian State was notified of the allegations of torture and mistreatment committed in Panama, while he was arrested in Darién as well as while he was imprisoned at La Palma Public Prison and La Joyita Penitentiary Center. Afterwards, on October 7 and October 24 of 2004, Mr. Vélez Loor sent two electronic mails to the Office of Foreign Affairs –Legal Matters and Treaties of Panama.266 236. As a result, the Court notes that said briefs were presented by Mr. Vélez Loor against the State of Panama once he was no longer under custody of Panama. In this respect, it is important to note that the victim may refrain, because he is afraid, from denouncing the acts of torture or mistreatment, especially if the victim is confined in the same place where these facts occurred.267 Considering the situation of vulnerability and defenselessness brought about by institutions such as prisons, the interior of which is completely not subject to public examination, it is important to emphasize the need to perform periodic inspections at detention centers,268 in order to guarantee the independence of the medical and health care personnel responsible for examining and providing assistance to those who are detained,269 and for these to have available, adequate, and effective means to assert their claims and file complaints while in deprived of liberty.270 237. From the evidence furnished, it springs that, after the receipt of the complaint at the Embassy of Panama (supra para. 235), on January 27, 2004, said brief was forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama,271 and on February 10, 2004, the Office of Legal Affairs and Treaties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Embassy that it had requested information from the National Police and the Office of 264 Cf. Note E.P.Ec. N° 035-04 issued by the Embassy of Panama in Ecuador addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama on January 27, 2004 (case file of the evidence, volume VIII, annex 22 of the response to the application, folio 3170 to 3182). 265 Cf. Complaint signed by Jesus Tranquilino Vélez filed before the Panamanian Foreign Office on September 15, 2004 (case file of the evidence, volume VIII, annex 48 of the response to the application, folio 3508). 266 In both of them he expressed in a consistent manner that “[he was] a victim of a cruel imprisonment by part of the Director of Migration,” during which they sent him to cellblock 12 of the La Joyita Penitentiary Center in which “[he was] savagely mistreated physically[,] morally, and sexually.” Furthermore, he stated that during said imprisonment “they broke [his] head with a stick, opening a wound of almost 4 [c]entimeters of which up to today [he is] still suffering.” In the second message, he added that “a homosexual police officer from La Joyita demanded [him] to let [him] do oral sex on his penis in exchange for removing [him] from the torture room that is known as la discoteca of cellblock 12 […].” Note A.J. No. 2865 issued by the General Director of Legal Affairs and Treaties of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Panama addressed to the Chief of Consular Affairs of the Embassy of Panama in Ecuador on November 17, 2004 (evidence file, volume VIII, annex 23 of the answer to the petition, folios 3184 to 3186). 267 Cf. Case of Bayarri, supra note 27, para. 92. 268 Cf. United Nations, Committee against Torture, General Observation No. 2: Application of Article 2 by States Parties, CAT/C/GC/2, January 24, 2008, para. 13. 269 Cf. Case of Bayarri, supra note 27, para. 92. See also, United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, Istanbul Protocol (Manual for the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment) Nueva York and Geneva, 2001, paras. 56, 60, 65, and 66, and United Nations, Committee against Torture, General Observation No. 2, supra note 268. 270 Cf. United Nations, Committee against Torture, General Observation No. 2, supra note 268. 271 Note E.P.Ec N° 035-04, supra note 264.