197. Similarly, Article 1 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture establishes that “[t]he State Parties undertake to prevent and punish torture in accordance with the terms of this Convention.” Article 6 of the Convention establishes that “[i]n accordance with the provisions of Article 1, the States Parties shall take effective measures to prevent and punish torture within their jurisdiction.” Article 8 of this Convention stipulates that “if there is an accusation or well-grounded reason to believe that an act of torture has been committed within their jurisdiction, the States Parties shall guarantee that their respective authorities will proceed properly and immediately to conduct an investigation into the case and to initiate, whenever appropriate, the corresponding criminal process.” 198. The arguments of the parties will be analyzed below in the following order: a) the alleged torture suffered by Daniel García Rodríguez and Reyes Alpízar Ortiz, and b) the investigations into the alleged acts of torture. B.1. Alleged torture suffered by Daniel García Rodríguez and Reyes Alpízar Ortiz 199. The arguments of the Commission and the representatives regarding the alleged acts of torture to the detriment of Daniel García and Reyes Alpízar are based on the following elements: a) the statements of the alleged victims who stated on several occasions that they were subjected to physical and psychological violence during their arrest, interrogation and arraigo (detention); b) no conclusions have been reached to refute the petitioners’ allegations and the evidence obtained from the respective medical checks or examinations; c) a series of expert reports prepared in the course of the criminal proceedings show that the opinion of several experts was that Reyes Alpízar had been the victim of physical and psychological torture; and d) the State has not provided a satisfactory explanation to refute, through adequate evidence, the claims of the alleged victims and the proof of their occurrence. 200. The Court will now analyze the alleged acts of torture against each of the alleged victims separately. a) Regarding the alleged acts of torture to the detriment of Reyes Alpízar Ortiz 201. In order to establish whether acts of torture occurred to the detriment of Reyes Alpízar Ortiz, the Court will seek to determine, first, whether he was subjected to mistreatment by public servants during the time he was under the control of the State. Secondly, the severity of this mistreatment and its intentionality will be evaluated. 202. As a starting point, it should be recalled that Reyes Alpízar Ortiz was arrested on October 25, 2002 and, since then, remained in State custody until 2019, either giving statements to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, or being held in arraigo or in a prison on remand. 203. At this point it is useful to reiterate that under Articles 5(1) and 5(2) of the American Convention, the State must guarantee the right to life and personal integrity of persons deprived of liberty, since it is in a special position of guarantor with respect to such persons, because the prison authorities exercise total control over them. 226 Likewise, the Court has pointed out that, from the general obligations to respect and guarantee human rights established in Article 1(1) of the American Convention, special obligations are derived that are determined based on the particular needs for protection of the subject of law, either because of his personal situation or 226 Cf. Case of Neira Alegría et al. v. Peru. Merits. Judgment of January 19, 1995. Series C No. 20, para. 60; Case of Pacheco Teruel et al. v. Honduras. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of April 27, 2012 Series C No. 241, para. 63, and Case of Aroca Palma et al. v. Ecuador, supra, para. 88. -53-