5 c. Bámaca Velásquez was alive when the Guatemalan armed forces took him prisoner, and “they imprisoned him secretly in several military installations, where they tortured and eventually executed him.” d. Moreover, the State incurred in denial of justice and concealment, “[by failing to] provide any legal protection or compensation for the crimes perpetrated against Efraín Bámaca [Velásquez] and to adequately investigate his disappearance and death, punishing those responsible.” 19. The Inter-American Commission appointed Carlos Ayala Corao and Claudio Grossman as its delegates before the Court, David J. Padilla and Denise Gilman as advisors, and José E. Pertierra as assistant. In a note of April 7, 1997, the Commission also appointed Viviana Krsticevic, Marcela Matamoros and Francisco Cox as assistants (infra 42). The last two later resigned as assistants in the case. 20. In a note of October 1, 1996, the Court notified the State of the application and its annexes, after these had been examined by the President of the Court (hereinafter "the President"). 21. In a communication received by the Court of October 22, 1996, the State appointed Julio Gándara Valenzuela as its agent for the case. On April 15, 1998, and April 7, August 7 and November 13, 2000, the State appointed as its agent, in substitution of the previously named agent, Guillermo Argueta Villagrán, José Briz Gutiérrez, Enrique Barascout and Jorge Mario García Laguardia, respectively. 22. On October 31, 1996, the State filed its brief with preliminary objections, owing to the alleged failure to exhaust remedies under domestic law. 23. On January 6, 1997, the State presented its answer to the application in which it stated that “it recognize[d] its international human rights responsibility in this case, since it had not been possible, up until this moment, for the competent instances, to identify the persons or person criminally responsible for the unlawful acts that were the subject of the application”. Furthermore, it requested that “it should be considered that the international human rights responsibility of the Government of Guatemala has been recognized with regard to the facts outlined under numeral II of the application”. Moreover, Guatemala requested a period of six months in order to reach an agreement on reparations with the Inter-American Commission, after the heirs had been determined, in accordance with the domestic law of Guatemala. Should no agreement be reached, it requested the Court to open the reparations stage. Lastly, it advised that “[t]his recognition [did] not imply that domestic remedies had been exhausted, since the case [was still] open under the Guatemalan legal system.” 24. On January 20, 1997, the State sent a note clarifying the document answering the application as follows: [t]he Government of the Republic of Guatemala accepts the facts set out in numeral II of the application in the case of Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, inasmuch as it has still not been possible to identify the persons or person criminally responsible for the unlawful acts against Mr. Bámaca [Velásquez] and, thus, clarify his disappearance, with the reservation as regards the Commission's statement in numeral II, subparagraph 2, because, it has not been possible to confirm the circumstances of the disappearance of Mr. Bámaca [Velásquez] under the domestic proceeding.