I INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE AND PURPOSE OF THE DISPUTE 1. The case submitted to the Court. On September 6, 2019, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (hereinafter “the Inter-American Commission” or “the Commission”) submitted to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court the case of Bedoya Lima et al. versus the Republic of Colombia (hereinafter “the State of Colombia," "the Colombian State," "the State," or "Colombia"). The Commission indicated that the case was related to a series of alleged human rights violations stemming from the kidnapping, torture, and rape of journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima for reasons related to her profession and the State’s alleged failure to adopt adequate and timely measures to protect it and prevent the facts from taking place. The Commission asked that the State be declared responsible for the violation of the rights established in articles 4(1), 5(1), 5(2), 7, 8(1), 11, 13, 22, 24, and 25(1) of the American Convention in conjunction with the obligations established in the Article 1(1) of the same instrument, to the detriment of Ms. Bedoya. The Commission likewise concluded that the State was responsible for the violation of Article 7(b) of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (hereinafter the “Convention of Belém do Pará”) and articles 1, 6, and 8 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (hereinafter “the ICPPT”), to the detriment of Ms. Bedoya. Lastly, it asked that the State be declared internationally responsible for the violation of the right to personal integrity enshrined in Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in connection with Article 1(1) of said instrument to the detriment of Ms. Luz Nelly Lima, mother of Ms. Bedoya. 2. Procedure before the Commission. The procedure before the Commission was as follows: a) Petition. - On June 3, 2011, the Commission received the initial petition, presented by the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (hereinafter “FLIP”) on behalf of Ms. Bedoya and her mother. In 2013, the Center for Justice and International Law (hereinafter “CEJIL”) joined in representing her. b) Admissibility Report. On July 21, 2014, the Commission adopted Admissibility Report 50/14, in which it concluded that the petition was admissible. 1 c) Report on the Merits. On December 7, 2018, the Commission approved Report on the Merits 150/18, in accordance with Article 50 of the Convention (hereinafter also “the Report on the Merits” or “Report No. 150/18”), in which it reached a series of conclusions 2 and made several recommendations to the State. d) Notification of the State. The Report on the Merits was notified to the State on January 16, 2019, and it was given two months to report on compliance with the recommendations. At the request of the State, an additional three-month extension was granted. 3. 1 Submission to the Court. On September 6, 2019, the Commission submitted all the facts and It was notified to the parties on August 6, 2014. The Commission concluded that the State was internationally responsible for the violation of the rights to life, personal integrity, personal liberty, privacy, freedom of expression, and equal protection enshrined in articles 4(1), 5(1), 5(2), 7, 11, 13, and 24 of the American Convention, in connection with Article 1(1) of the same treaty; Article 7(b) of the Convention of Belém do Pará; and articles 1, 6, and 8 of the ICPPT, to the detriment of Ms. Bedoya. Additionally, it also found violation of the rights to judicial guarantees and judicial protection, enshrined in articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the American Convention, in connection with articles 1(1), 5(1) and 5(2), 11, and 13 thereof, Article 7(b) of the Convention of Belém do Pará, and articles 1, 6, and 8 of the ICPPT, to the detriment of Ms. Bedoya. It also concluded that the State was responsible for the violation of the right to personal integrity enshrined in Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in connection with Article 1(1) of that treaty to the detriment of Ms. Luz Nelly Lima. 2 4