II. PROCEEDING BEFORE THE COMMISSION 5. The petition was received by the IACHR on June 3, 2011, and was admitted to processing on November 16, 2011. On December 2 of that year, the Commission sent the pertinent parts of the case file to the Colombian State and asked it to submit its reply within two months, pursuant to Article 30 of the Rules of Procedure of the IACHR. At the State’s request, the deadline was extended to March 5, 2012. The State submitted its response to the petition in communication dated March 12, 2012. The response was forwarded to the petitioner on March 20, 2012, and she was given one month to respond to it. At the request of the petitioner, the deadline for submitting her comments on the State’s response was extended by one month. The petitioner submitted her comments on June 1, 2012, and on June 20, 2012, a copy of them was forwarded to the State of Colombia. After receiving a deadline extension, the State submitted its comments in communication dated October 29, 2012. They were forwarded to the petitioner on November 14, 2012. − Precautionary measures (MC 132-00) 6. In light of the incidents that presumptively took place, in communication received, on May 30, 2000, the petitioner asked the IACHR to adopt precautionary measures to protect the life and physical integrity of Jineth Bedoya Lima, a journalist with El Espectador; Hollman Morris Rincón, the newspaper’s peace section editor; and Jorge Cardona Alzate, the legal editor. Pursuant to Article 29 of its Rules of Procedure, the Commission granted the precautionary measures on June 2, 2000, and asked the Colombian State to take steps to protect the life and personal integrity of the alleged victim and the other journalists mentioned, as well as to investigate the alleged incidents. III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES A. Position of the petitioner 7. The petitioner argued that the facts leading to this petition took place in the context of risk to those who exercise of journalism in Colombia as a result of the ongoing armed conflict. This risk was exacerbated by the overwhelming impunity in the investigation of crimes committed against journalists. The petitioner reported that the facts also form part of a context of constant threats against Jineth Bedoya and her family, which began in 1998 and whose purpose was to stop her from exercising her profession. 8. The petitioner indicated that at the time of the alleged facts, Jineth Bedoya Lima was working for the newspaper El Espectador as its lead prisons reporter. In that capacity, the alleged victim had to cover a massacre that took place on April 27, 2000, in the National Model Prison in Bogotá in which 25 inmates died following a confrontation between members of paramilitary groups and inmates convicted for common crimes. According to the petitioner, following her reporting, Jineth Bedoya was threatened by inmates in that prison belonging to paramilitary groups who thought based on her reporting that she sympathized with the FARC guerrilla group. According to the petitioner, the alleged victim reported the situation to the sitting Defense Minister, who promised he would pass the information on to the Chief of Police to start an investigation. 9. On May 24, 2000, the alleged victim received a phone call from an individual named “Ramiro" who identified himself as speaking on behalf of of an inmate in the National Model Prison of Bogotá, alias "The Baker,” asking that she interview him about the aforementioned massacre. The alleged victim agreed to do the interview on the condition that her safety be guaranteed. The petitioner said that “Ramiro" promised that the prison warden was aware of the situation and had authorized the journalist to enter the prison on May 25. The petitioner also stated that during that conversation, the alleged victim asked that the newspaper photographer be allowed to accompany her, to which “Ramiro” agreed. The petitioner stated that on the morning of May 25, 2000, it was agreed at the newspapers headquarters that for reasons of security, the newspaper’s legal editor, Jorge Cardona, a photographer, and a driver would go with her. 10. According to the petitioner, when they arrived at the National Model Prison of Bogotá, Jineth Bedoya went to the prison’s main entrance while her coworkers stayed behind awaiting instruction. The