46. On March 22, 1999, Mrs. Escobar Candiotti filed a complaint pertaining to the disappearance of her son with the Lircay police station. 25 In his statement at the initial proceeding, PNP Captain Roberto Gastiaburú Nakada referred to the complaint filed with the police by the mother and sister of Walter Munárriz Escobar, and to the alleged efforts by the police itself to find him. 26 47. On March 23 of that year, Mrs. Escobar Candiotti filed a formal criminal complaint against the personnel on duty at the police station on the day her son disappeared 27. 48. In an interview which the Office of the People’s Defender held on March 25, 1999 with the Prosecutor in charge of the investigation at the time, Silvia Montero Meléndez, she stated as follows: […] my office has opened the relevant investigations into the alleged disappearance of citizen Walter Munárriz Escobar, and we have collected statements from the following persons: Marcos Leónidas Sierra Tueros, Raúl Donayres Huaman, [illegible], Máximo Romero Bendezu, Lucinda Ponce Sáforas, Mary Lilian Lizarme Luis, Luis Angel [illegible], Patrick Jeanette Flores Mendoza de Gutiérrez […].28 49. The commissioner responsible in the Office of the People’s Defender wrote in the management report on said meeting that the Prosecutor stated that “I am personally conducting the investigations, and have requested the support of the Huancavelica Division, in official letter No. 125.99 [illegible] including a request for tracking mobility […] to try to locate the student in question. The Provincial Prosecutor added that her office is doing everything necessary to properly clarify the facts.”29 50. The Commission notes that on March 27 of the same year, the Provincial Municipality of Angaraes, the Defense and Development Committees of the three districts of Lircay, the Academic Professional Mining School, and the “public in general” sent a request to the Huancavelica Senior Prosecutor requesting that “an ad hoc prosecutor be appointed, since the current Provincial Prosecutor of Lircay, Silvia Montero Meléndez, is blatantly biased as she has agreed with the versions given by the National Police, instead of safeguarding the interests or rights of the citizens of this community.” 30 On May 3, 1999, the Superior Prosecution Office for Government Management of the Judicial District issued a decision in which it referred to the case of Walter Munárriz Escobar in the following terms: […] to remove Dr. Silvia Montero Meléndez from this case, due to her manifest negligence, delay in conducting prior investigations into the case, and the fact that the people of LircayAngaraes and the family members of the disappeared student all distrust her […]. 31 25 Annex 12. Complaint filed with the Lircay police station on March 22, 1999. Annex 4 of the initial petition. 26 Annex 13. Prosecutorial decision No. 01-2000. Annex to the State’s memorandum No. 7-5-M/066 of February 9, 2006. Specifically, it stated that “[…] since there was no complaint filed against him, he ordered that he be released at approximately 5:15 a.m., then heading in the police car together with PNP SO2 Percy Bladimir Salvatierra Laura and PNP SOT3 Carlos Hugo Valdivia Urrutia […] they patrolled the Julcani Mine, pursuant to an order issued by PNP Colonel Lingan Ríos, arriving there at 7:30 am, and leaving at 11:00 am, and later conducted an inspection at the Ccochaccasa police station, and returned at approximately 1:45. On Sunday March 21, 1999, on Andres Avelino Cáceres at the fiesta of Guinda, Tuna y Cochinilla, he was approached by Mr. Genebrando Aranda, who was accompanied by Mrs. Gladys Justina Escobar Candiotti and her daughter Gladys Munárriz Escobar, who told him that Walter had disappeared, and so he told them that she should go to the police station to file a report, and that he would tell his superior, Colonel Lingán Ríos about this on March 22, 1999, since police personnel were implicated, and he also requested specialized personnel to investigate the case; and on March 24, 1999, he asked the Angaraes Joint Provincial Prosecutor’s Office to conduct the investigations […]. With police personnel and firemen from Huancavelica, they searched high and low in an attempt to locate the disappeared person, Walter Munárriz Escobar, without success […]. 27 Annex 14. Formal complaint filed by Mrs. Gladys Escobar Candiotti on March 23, 1999. Annex 6 of the initial petition. 28 Annex 15. Management report of the Office of the People’s Defender dated March 25, 1999. Interview with Silvia Montero Meléndez. Annex 11 to the initial petition. 29 Annex 15. Management report of the Office of the People’s Defender dated March 25, 1999. Interview with Silvia Montero Meléndez. Annex 11 to the initial petition. 30 Annex 16. Letter of March 27, 1999 sent to the Huancavelica Senior Prosecutor. 31 Annex 17. Decision of the Office of the Superior Prosecutor for Government Management of the Judicial District, May 3, 1999. Annex to the initial petition. 9