-6- asked to forward the information required, with the clarification that the Court would treat this documentation confidentially, exclusively to be examined by itself and by the parties, and that it would be transmitted to the latter with the express requirement that it was not made public by any medium (infra para. 59). On March 30, 2010, the State forwarded copies of the case file being processed by the office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation which contained documentation on the current investigation of the crime perpetrated against Mr. Cepeda Vargas. The Secretariat forwarded this documentation to the Commission and the representatives and, on the instructions of the President, granted them a specific time frame to present observations. The representatives submitted their observations on April 28, 2010. The Commission did not submit any observations. On May 13, 2010, the State presented observations on the representatives’ brief which, on the instructions of the Court in plenary, were not admitted because such observations were not established in the Rules of Procedure and had not been requested. II PARTIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY 13. In the instant case, the State made a partial acknowledgment of the facts and of its international responsibility for several of the alleged violations of the rights recognized in the American Convention. Thus, in its answer to the application, the State reiterated and specified the partial acknowledgement made during the proceedings before the Commission,11 as follows: • By act and omission, for violation of the right to life embodied in Article 4 of the Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, of Manuel Cepeda Vargas, as a result of the events that occurred on August 9, 1994, in which the Senator lost his life. • For violation of the right to personal integrity embodied in Article 5 of the Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, of Senator Manuel Cepeda Vargas, owing to the Senator’s anguish and uncertainty because of the death threats, which led him to request measures of protection from the competent authorities, measures that were insufficient to avoid his murder. • For violation of the right to personal integrity embodied in Article 5, in relation to Article 1(1) of the Convention, of the direct next of kin of the victim (Iván Cepeda Castro, María Cepeda Castro and Olga Navia Soto), owing to the mental and moral effects on them of the death of Senator Cepeda Vargas, who have undergone additional suffering owing to the acts and omissions of the State authorities in the perpetration of the facts. • For violation of the right to honor and dignity embodied in Article 11 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, of Senator Manuel Cepeda Vargas, taking into account that the permanent harassment and threats against him had a negative effect on his honor and reputation. • For violation of the right to freedom of expression embodied in Article 13 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument, of 11 Cf. Observations of the Republic of Colombia of February, 28, 2010, regarding the admissibility and merits of the Manuel Cepeda Vargas case (evidence file, tome II, appendix III of the application, folios 980 to 986)