III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES Position of the petitioners 6. By way of context, the petitioners affirmed that, until April 1991, Mr. Jeremías Osorio Rivera, then 27 years of age, resided in the community of Cochas-Paca, province of Cajatambo, department of Lima, which was subjected to repeated incursions by the insurgent organization Shining Path. They said that Mr. Osorio Rivera and other members of the community raised the Peruvian flag every week in resistance and opposition to the acts of violence sponsored by that criminal organization. 7. The petitioners alleged that on April 28, 1991, Mr. Jeremías Osorio Rivera was detained by an Army patrol from the Counter-subversives Base at Cajatambo, whose members accused him of belonging to the Shining Path. They said the soldiers were stationed in the community of Cochas-Paca for two days, during which they subjected the alleged victim to physical mistreatment. They alleged that members of the local community witnessed various lesions on Mr. Osorio Rivera’s face, and that, on one occasion, members of the patrol wrapped his head in a hood to hide the wounds. They asserted that on April 30, 1991, the Army patrol left the community, taking Mr. Jeremías Osorio Rivera with them, with his hands tied, on a horse belonging to members of the local community. 8. According to the petitioners, the commander of the Army patrol that set up camp in the community of Cochas-Paca, Lieutenant Juan Carlos Tello Delgado, presented a document, dated May 1, 1991, entitled “certificate of release,” allegedly bearing the signature and fingerprint of Mr. Jeremías Osorio Rivera 1. They say this document was not signed by any military or judicial authority, and that, considering the circumstances under which it was produced, it could be inferred that the alleged victim was forced to sign it. 9. The petitioners affirmed that, in May 1991, the brother of the alleged victim, Porfirio Osorio Rivera, presented a complaint to the Provincial Criminal Court of Cajatambo, stating that the whereabouts of Jeremías Osorio Rivera had remained unknown since April 30, 1991. They indicated that the Provincial Criminal Court of Cajatambo opened a criminal investigation into the crimes of abuse of authority and violation of the right to personal freedom against thenArmy Lieutenant Juan Carlos Tello Delgado. They said the inquiry was subsequently refused jurisdiction and sent to the military judicial authority, then was shelved on February 7, 1996, through a final ruling of dismissal by the Supreme Council of Military Justice. 10. According to the allegation, on June 14, 2004, Porfirio Osorio Rivera presented a complaint to the Office of the Special Prosecutor on Forced Disappearances, Extrajudicial Executions, and Exhumation of Clandestine Graves (hereinafter “the Office of the Special Prosecutor”), concerning the alleged forced disappearance of his brother Jeremías Osorio. They said that on September 24, 2004, the Office of the Special Prosecutor ordered that a preliminary investigation be opened, and that this was refused jurisdiction and referred to the Provincial Joint Prosecutor’s Office of Cajatambo on June 8, 2005. 11. The petitioners affirmed that on October 26, 2005, the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Cajatambo lodged a formal accusation that a crime against humanity, forced disappearance, and a violation of the right to personal liberty had been committed against Jeremías Osorio Rivera. They stated that, at the request of Porfirio Osorio Rivera, the hearing of the case was transferred to the Fourth Supraprovincial Criminal Court, which handled the investigations phase and presented the case file to the National Criminal Court. They indicated that on October 30, 2007, the Office of the Second Superior National Criminal Prosecutor lodged an accusation against Juan Carlos Tello Delgado, requesting 20 years in prison and other 1 To their initial petition, received by the IACHR on November 20, 1997, the petitioners attached a copy of that document, which reads as follows: THIS CERTIFIES THAT MR. OSORIO RIVERA JEREMIAS; WITH LE (Spanish acronym of Electoral Book) 15200671, BORN IN THE PROVINCE OF CAJATAMBO – DEPARTMENT OF LIMA, WAS RELEASED ON MAY 1, 1991, AT 7:00 A.M., AND WAS NOT SUBJECTED TO ANY KIND OF PHYSICAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL MISTREATMENT. THIS CERTIFICATE IS ISSUED FOR ALL PERTINENT PURPOSES. 2