50 son, José Rubén Rivera, indicating that the Fifth Infantry Brigade of the El Salvador Armed Forces and other military units were responsible. The complaint was assigned case file number 479-3-96.211 Also, on April 7, 1997, Arcadia Ramírez Portillo filed a criminal complaint before the Second Court of the First Instance of San Francisco Gotera for the forced disappearances of her daughters Ana Julia and Carmelina Mejía Ramírez, indicating that members of the Atlacatl Immediate Response Battalion were responsible. The case was assigned file number 187/97.212 Finally, in compliance with a decision of the Ombudsman’s Office (supra para. 134), on March 16, 2000, the Public Prosecution Service opened case file 255-UDVSV-00 to investigate the forced disappearances of José Rubén Rivera and the Contreras siblings, although procedural activity was not recorded until June 27, 2003; in other words, it took a year and a half to launch the investigation and, initially, it remained paralyzed for more than three years. 139. Nevertheless, during the said investigations, evidence collection procedures were carried out consisting of: receiving the testimony of the individuals that the complainants, the mothers of the disappeared children, had indicated as witnesses;213 conducting inspections to locate the next of kin of the disappeared children, when no complaint had been presented by a relative; but without finding them;214 sending official letters to the authorities of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense, whose response, when there was one, indicated that no information had been found on the presence of troops or operations in the place and on the date of the facts;215 and inspections of the file archives of the Fifth Infantry Brigade, but without finding any relevant information.216 211 Cf. Aggrieved party’s statement made by por Margarita de Dolores Rivera de Rivera, supra note 90. 212 Cf. Aggrieved party’s statement made by Arcadia Ramírez Portillo, supra note 59. 213 It is a fact acknowledged by the State that in criminal case 187/97, “during a period of almost two years, the testimony of only [five] individuals mentioned by the complainant were received.” In addition, in criminal investigation 479-3-96, during almost a year, the testimony of two persons mentioned by the complainant was received. Cf. Testimony of Carlota Romero supra note 94, and testimony of José Vidal Rivera Rivas, supra note 90. 214 The State has acknowledged that in investigation 225-UDVSV-00, it carried out “an inspection where the facts took place” in which “no one from the Contreras family was found” or “from the Rivera family.” 215 In case 479-3-96, on May 14, 1997, an official letter was sent to the Commanding Officer of the Fifth Infantry Brigade asking for information on whether the entry of José Rubén Rivera had been registered in the Brigade’s records. In a response dated May 22, 1997, the judge was informed that no information was found mentioning José Rubén Rivera or the presence of troops in the place and at the time of his disappearance. Cf. File 479-3/96 before the Second Criminal Court of San Vicente (evidence file, volume III, attachment 43 to the application, folios 2422 and 2423). Also, the State has acknowledged that, in criminal case 187/97, “[t]he only action taken by the Prosecutor in charge was requesting information from the Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Force and the Ministry of Defense, who indicated that they did not have information on an operation carried out by the Atlacatl Battalion on the day the facts took place.” Cf. File No. 187 before the Second Court of First Instance of San Francisco Gotera (evidence file, volume VII, attachment 34 to the pleadings, motions and evidence brief, folios 4522 to 4524 and 4526). In addition, in investigation 225-UDVSV-00, on January 29, 2004, an official letter was sent to the Commanding Office of the Fifth Infantry Brigade asking whether the records known as “operation logs” provided information on the military operations carried out at the time of the disappearances, the names of the Brigade’s commanding officer, the battalions, and the officers in charge of them, and on the possibility that the disappeared children were evacuated during those military actions. No response to those requests has been recorded. Cf. File 225-UDVSV-00 on Disappearances of Persons before the Unit for Crimes against Life and Physical Integrity of San Vicente (evidence file, volume X, attachment 5 to the answer to the application, folio 7264). 216 In case 479-3-96, on July 29, 1997, the judge ordered an inspection be carried out of the Filing Archives of the Fifth Infantry Brigade. The same day, the corresponding official letter was sent to the Commanding Officer of the Fifth Infantry Brigade. On August 2, 1997, the Commanding Officer of the Brigade informed the judge that, in order to have access to the logs, the authorization of the Minister of Defense had been requested. On August 12, 1997, the Commanding Officer reported that the Minister had ordered that an attested copy of the logs be coordinated with the Court. August 25, 1997, was indicated as the day for inspecting the logs kept by that institution in 1983, but the inspection was not carried out due to “reasons of force majeure.” Finally, the inspection took place on September 16, 1997, but no record was found of the attack on La Joya Canton on May 16, 1983, by