Some neighbors, with fear told the widow that three heavily armed men and a woman had got out of both cars and began beating [Herminio Deras] to get him to enter one of the vehicles. Moments later he was badly beaten up by his attackers, who not only hit his skull, they also knifed him and then killed him with seven shots. 19. The same article states that Mr. Deras' body was taken by Public Security (FUSEP) agents to the morgue at the Leonardo Martínez hospital.13 The petitioners explained that the Commanders of the Third Police Station in the district of Las Flores, near to where this took place, appeared at the scene and ordered that Mr.Deras' body be taken to the morgue.14 The State did not contest this information. 20. Otilia Flores, Mr. Deras' wife, said she heard of what had happened and went to the aforementioned hospital. She added: [The body of Herminio Deras] was at the entrance (...) guarded by military, who had thrown him into a cart. When I asked for him, they (the military) told me I should take that damn corpse away.15. 21. The petitioners stated that Otilia Flores took Herminio's body to her home, followed by the military. They added that a couple of hours later Herminio’s father arrived with a coffin and they proceeded to take his remains to his native town, El Progreso, in the department of Yoro. They added that, on that same day, Sergeant Virgilio Padilla, the officer in charge of the Third Police Station, declared to the media that the "car with the criminals had passed by [the station], but who was to know that it was carrying murderers" [quien para saber que allí iban los asesinos].16 That information has not been refuted by the State. 22. On February 4, 1983, Otilia Flores denounced the death of her husband to the First Criminal Court in San Pedro Sula, Mrs. Flores accused State agents as the alleged perpetrators and added that in previous years Herminio and members of his family had been threatened and attacked.17 23. Mr. Reyes declared that some days after the murder of Mr. Deras, he had told his superior, General Gustavo Adolfo Álvarez Martinez, that he knew the people who had committed that crime. He declared that said General answered: "that a soldier keeps what he sees to himself, because if not, he ceases to be an honorable soldier and breaks the oath he swore to the Fatherland, and that he himself would deal with this matter."18 24. There is no information in the file of any proceedings between the presentation of the complaint and 1998, when the Public Prosecutors' Office filed a new complaint, as will be reported in the following section. 25. In addition, the Commission observes that, as indicated by the petitioners and in statements by members of Mr. Deras' family, on June 8, 1984 military personnel raided two homes of the Deras family in El Progreso. The following family members were arrested: i) his sister Irma Isabel Deras; ii) his sister Consuelo Deras; iii) his brother Héctor Deras; iv) his nephew José Herminio Deras, aged 16; v) his father Domingo Deras; vi) his niece Sandra Ivonne Hernández Deras, aged 17; vii) his cousin Marlen García; and viii) his brothers-in-law Julio Cesar Chavarría Benegas and Cristóbal Hernández Pérez19. That information has not been contested by the State. 26. The petitioners pointed out that José Herminio Deras declared that he had been kept in a DNI cell with 18 people and that "it was forbidden to speak to prevent them identifying each other." He said that a State agent had told him: "just like we killed the tree, we are now going to kill the leaves." He said that all of them were photographed and that on June 9 he and his grandfather Domingo Deras had been released.20 Annex 1. Press release “Acribillan a Herminio Deras,” La Tribuna newspaper, January 31, 1983. Attached to file 7591-02. Communication by the petitioners on February 2, 2014. 15 Annex 1. Statement by Otilia Flórez Ortiz on August 12 1998. Attached to judicial file 7159-02. 16 Communication from the petitioners, February 2, 2014. 17 Annex 3. Complaint filed by Otilia Flores Ortiz on February 4, 1983. Appended to the petitioners’ brief of August 2, 2010. 18 Annex 1. Testimony of Fausto Reyes Caballero, October 28, 1998. Attached to judicial file 7159-02. 19 Communication from the petitioners, February 2, 2014. Annex 1. Statement by Irma Isabel Deras García, on August 12, 1998. Attached to judicial file 7159-02. 20 Communication from the petitioners, February 2, 2014. 13 14 5