addition, the State opposed the other alleged violations and presented three preliminary objections. 8. Victims’ Legal Assistance Fund. On January 11, 2019, the Secretariat of the Court, following instructions from the President, reported that the Court’s Victims Legal Assistance Fund will be applied to cover the expenses of three deponents, either at hearing or by affidavit. 9. Observations on the preliminary objections. On January 18, 2019, the Commission and the representatives forwarded their observations on the preliminary objections, indicating that the objections presented should be dismissed. They also referred to the State’s partial acknowledgment of international responsibility. 10. Public Hearing. On February 15, 2019, the President issued an order 7 by which he summoned the State, the representatives and the Inter-American Commission to hold a public hearing, regarding the preliminary objections and eventual merits, reparations and costs, to hear the final oral arguments of the parties and the final oral observations of the Commission regarding these issues. Additionally, by means of said order, it called five declarants, one witness and three experts, all proposed by the representatives, to give statements by notary public (affidavit). Additionally, by means of said order two declarants and one expert witness, all proposed by the representatives, were summoned to testify at the public hearing. The public hearing was held on March 7, 2019, during the Court’s 130th Regular Session, held at the Court's headquarters.8 11. Arguments and final written observations. The State, on April 5, 2019, and the representatives, on April 8, 2019, forwarded their respective final written arguments together with various annexes, and on April 8, 2019, the Commission presented its final written observations. 12. Observations on the annexes presented by the representatives together with the final arguments. On April 26, 2019, the State forwarded its observations on the annexes to the representatives’ final arguments. The Commission did not present observations. 13. Expenditures in application of the Assistance Fund. On July 11, 2019, the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court, following instructions from the President of the Court, sent information to the State on the disbursements made in application of the Fund in this case, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Rules of Procedure on the Operation of the Assistance Fund, granting a period to present the observations it deemed pertinent. The State submitted its observations on July 23, 2019. Cf. Case of Valenzuela Ávila v. Guatemala. Order of the President of the Court of February 15, 2019. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/valenzuela_avila_15_02_19.pdf. On March 4, 2019, the President of the Court issued an order in which a request from the Commission regarding the change of modality of the joint expert opinion of Parvais Jabbar and Edward Fitzgerald was authorized. Said expert opinion was offered in the cases of Girón and Castillo, Ruiz Fuentes and Martínez Coronado, both against Guatemala, and it was ordered to be transferred to this case. Therefore, the term was extended to March 18, 2019, for its presentation by affidavit. On the last date the affidavit was presented. Available at: http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/ruizfuentes_mart%C3%ADnezcoronado_gir%C3%B3nyotro_valenzuela%C 3%A1vila_rodr%C3%ADguezrevolorioyotros_04_03_19.pdf. 8 The following appeared at this hearing: a) for the Inter-American Commission: Luis Ernesto Vargas Silva, Commissioner; Silvia Serrano Guzmán and Christian González Chacón, lawyers from the Executive Secretariat of the Commission; b) for the representatives: Alejandro Rodríguez Barillas and Elvyn Leonel Díaz Sánchez from the ICCPG and Fidencia Orozco de Licardi from the IDPP; c) for the State: Jorge Luis Borrayo Reyes, President of COPREDEH; Felipe Sánchez González, Director of COPREDEH; Carla Gabriela Morales, Director of the Directorate of Mechanisms for Human Rights Defenders; and Steffany Rebeca Vásquez and Rafael Eduardo Bran, Advisors to the Directorate of Mechanisms for Human Rights Defenders, and Carlos Alberto De León Moreno, Public Prosecutor. 7 6