7. The petitioners state that they traveled to La Paz, Bolivia, on February 19, 2001, in the company of their children – Juan Ricardo, of four years of age and a Chilean national, and Juana Guadalupe (8) and Frida Edith (12), both Peruvian nationals – with all their documents (passports, Chilean and Peruvian identity papers, birth certificates, academic certificates) in order as of the date of their journey. They say that on February 20, 2001, at approximately 10:00 a.m., they reported to the Immigration Office in La Paz, Bolivia, to pursue formalities relating to their stay in that country, taking with them all the documents listed above. As background information, they explain that they had been living in Chile as refugees and that, in October 1995, together with their children, they had sought permission to reside in the Republic of Bolivia through the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).1 The petitioners state that at the immigration office, Mr. Juan Carlos Molina, General Advisor of the Immigration Office in La Paz, received them and made offensive verbal attacks regarding the family’s situation.2 The petitioners report that Mr. Molina was totally unaware of the petitioners’ status as refugees and residents of Chile and, in spite of having secured confirmation from the Chilean Consulate in La Paz, 3 Mr. Molina seized all the family’s documents, ordered the doors of his office slammed shut, and abducted Fredesvinda Tineo Godos.4 The petitioners report that at around 6:00 p.m., Mrs. Tineo Godos was taken to the cells of the La Paz police headquarters, without either food or warm clothing, without being told the reason for her arrest, and without being informed of her rights. The petitioners also state that Mrs. Tineo Godos was not allowed to communicate with any person who might have acted as legitimate counsel for her defense. 8. The petitioners claim that at 8:00 p.m. on February 20, 2001, Mr. Pacheco Osco located Mrs. Tineo Godos and attempted to secure her immediate release through the intervention of a lawyer from the La Paz Permanent Human Rights Assembly. They state that at 11:00 a.m. on February 21, 2001, they secured Mrs. Tineo Godos’s release through a habeas corpus remedy lodged by the La Paz Permanent Human Rights Assembly. The petitioners report that on February 22, 2001, they were harassed by the La Paz immigration office and that pressure was brought to bear on them to withdraw the habeas corpus motion, in exchange for which the documents necessary for them to leave Bolivia would be returned to them; for this, the entire family was required to report to the immigration office. The petitioners explain that the harassment and verbal pressure handed out by staff at the immigration office entailed their being told that they would do best to withdraw the habeas corpus filing, that otherwise they would be held there and imprisoned, and that their documents would not be returned. Faced with this situation, the petitioners state, the Chilean consulate intervened so they could leave the country for Arica, Chile. However, the immigration authorities said that they would have to be taken in a police vehicle; this offer was rejected by the petitioners and, consequently, they were unable to recover their 1 According to information provided by Mr. Pacheco, UNHCR began to study their case in October 1995 and, one year later, told them their request was being processed. Almost two years later, in March 1997, the Bolivian government gave them refugee visas. In August 1998 the Chilean government gave them refugee visas. 2 According to information furnished by the petitioners, some years earlier Juan Pacheco Osco and Fredesvinda Tineo had been prosecuted in Peru on charges of “terrorism”; they were acquitted in the initial proceedings, which were later annulled. During his arrest Juan Pacheco Osco survived the actions taken against political prisoners at Castro Castro Penitentiary on May 6 to 9, 1992, in which 50 selected inmates were murdered; as a result of that incident, Juan Pacheco Osco still carries multiple pieces of shrapnel in his body. Following his release, the Pacheco Tineo family sought protection by taking refuge first in Bolivia and, later, in Chile. Mr. Pacheco and his wife were imprisoned from June 19, 1991, to April 8, 1994. 3 On February 20, 2001, the Chilean Consul himself paid a visit on Mr. Molina. 4 On February 19, 2001, the Godos family had arrived at the home of friends of theirs in Bolivia, and had left the three children there.