49 anthropological analyses carried out. 170 Fourth, the case was presented to the Inter-American Commission on December 13, 2007, which issued its Merits Report on April 2, 2014. 171 Thus, for almost seven years the state authorities were repeatedly alerted by said body about the occurrence of the facts. However, the steps taken to ascertain the whereabouts of the victims were almost non-existent (infra para. 220, 221, 227, 235, 237 and 238), which is an additional indication of what happened to them. 153. Certainly, the disappearance of the 22 alleged victims was not an isolated act, but part of a practice of forced disappearance of persons carried out mainly by agents of the State security forces during the period of the internal armed conflict (supra para. 79). 154. In view of the foregoing, the Court concludes that the 22 alleged victims were deprived of their liberty by members of the State security forces in the context of the internal armed conflict, and that the last that was heard of them was that they were under State custody; thereafter, their whereabouts are unknown. The Court finds that the subsequent actions by the authorities and State agents show a refusal to acknowledge the aforementioned deprivations of liberty, and to provide information on the fate or whereabouts of said persons, with the aim of generating uncertainty about their life or death. The context of the facts of the case support this conclusion. 155. Therefore, the Court considers that the State is responsible for the forced disappearance of: 1. Hugo García Depaz, 2. Abraham Alvarado Tecú (or Agapito Alvarado Depáz), 3. Manuel de Jesús Alarcón Morente, and 4. Edmundo or Raymundo Alarcón Morente. Their disappearance continued until 2008, when they were identified by means of a forensic anthropological report, and after the issuance of said report, the whereabouts of the four persons became definitively known (supra paras. 99 and 100). In this sense, it is possible to conclude that their disappearance lasted for approximately 26 years. 156. In addition, the State is responsible for the forced disappearance of: 5. Pedro Siana; 6. Juan Pérez Sic; 7. Lorenzo Depaz Siprian (or Lorenzo Depaz Ciprian or Florencio Depaz Cipriano); 8. Leonardo Cahuec Gonzalés; 9. Juan Mendoza Alvarado; 10. José Cruz Mendoza Sucup; 11. María Conception Chen Sic; 12. Casimiro Siana; 13. Cruz Pérez Ampérez; 14. Gorgonio González; 15. Jorge Galeano Román; 16. Eustaquio lxtecoc González (or Eustaquio Yxtecoc González); 17. Rafael Depaz Tecú; 18. Enrique Mendoza Sis; 19. Gabino Román Yvoy (or Iboy or Ivoy); 20. Dionicio or Dionisio Vachan or Bachán; 21. Marcelo Sic Chen, and 22. Adrián García Manuel. In this regard, the whereabouts of all these individuals still remain unknown, more than 32 to 35 years after the disappearances began, despite the various complaints that have been brought to the attention of the State at different times. 157. Therefore, the Court concludes that in the instant case a total of 22 persons were victims of forced disappearance. In 2008, the whereabouts of four of these victims were established, but to date, the whereabouts of 18 victims remain unknown. However, it is not appropriate to conclude the forced disappearance of a total of 59 persons who were alleged as victims of said violation, considering that the work of exhumation and identification of the remains of 31 persons has yet to be completed (supra para. 147). B.2. Violations of Articles 7, 5(1), 5(2), 4(1) and 3 of the American Convention 170 On October 21, 2004 the FAFG submitted to the District Prosecutor of the Salamá Public Prosecution Service of Baja Verapaz, the final report of the Forensic Anthropological Investigation carried out in Xeabaj. Also, on December 22, 2014, the FAFG submitted to the Public Prosecution Service an Expert Report of the Forensic Anthropological Investigation carried out in the San Francisco Cemetery, in the hamlet of Chuateguá. The victims included the following individuals: Cruz Amperez Sis (sic), Gorgonio Gonzalez Gonzalez (sic), Gabino Román Iboy, Eustaquio Ixtecoc and Rafael Depaz. Cf. FAFG Report of the Forensic Anthropological Investigation of October 6, 2004 (evidence file, folios 1601 and 1606), and FAFG Report of June 5, 2014 (evidence file, folios 9247 to 9276). 171 Among the victims mentioned in the Merits Report were Juan Pérez Sic, Casimiro Siana, Jorge Galeano Román, Enrique Mendoza Sis, Manuel Alarcón Morente and Raymundo Alarcón Morente.