9. The petitioner submitted its observations through a communication received April 17, 2003, whose pertinent parts were forwarded to the State on May 6, 2003; the State was given one month to submit its comments. The State submitted its comments on the petitioner’s observations brief by a written communication received August 19, 2003, the pertinent parts of which were forwarded to the complainant on August 21, 2003; the complainant was given one month to submit observations. The petitioner then set forth observations in a communication received September 23, 2003, the pertinent parts of which were forwarded to the State on September 30, 2003; it was given one month to submit comments. The State forwarded its comments by a communication received November 10, 2003, the pertinent parts of which were sent to the petitioner on December 11, 2003. III. A. THE PARTIES’ POSITIONS The Petitioner’s Position 10. The petitioner notes that Mr. Nelson Carvajal Carvajal was assassinated on April 16, 1998, for motives related to his work as a journalist. He was the director of the new program “Momento Regional” and of the radio magazines “Mirador de la Semana,” “Amanecer en el Campo,” and “Tribuna Médica” of the radio station Emisora Radio Sur, in the municipality of Pitalito, department of Huila. 11. The complainant indicates that Mr. Nelson Carvajal Carvajal was engaged in investigative journalism into corruption-related issues in the region. According to the complainant, Mr. Carvajal Carvajal was denouncing businessman and politician Fernando Bermúdez Ardila for the construction of housing in a high-risk area, with unsuitable materials. The complainant further notes that days prior to his assassination, Mr. Carvajal Carvajal was said to have obtained documents implicating Mr. Bermúdez Ardila in an arms-trafficking network in the region. 12. The petitioner states that the day of the murder, he was at the Los Pinos school, where he was the principal and a teacher. At approximately 6:00 pm, while Mr. Carvajal Carvajal was leaving the school on his motorcycle, an individual shot him seven times at the door to the school. The individual escaped minutes later on a motorcycle with another person who was waiting for him. 13. The petitioner argues that there have been four hypotheses regarding the death of Mr. Carvajal Carvajal, two of them linked to Mr. 3