II PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COURT 3. Notification TO the State and the representatives. – The submission of the case by the Commission was notified to the State on January 10, 2019, and was notified to the representatives of the alleged victims on December 10, 2019. 1 4. Brief with pleadings, motions and evidence. – On February 9, 2019, the representatives presented their brief of pleadings, motions and evidence (hereinafter "pleadings and motions brief"), pursuant to Articles 25 and 40 of the Court's Rules of Procedure. In said brief, they agreed with the Commission's allegations and added arguments concerning the alleged violation of Article 5 of the Convention, to the detriment of the Flores Bedregal sisters. 5. Answering brief . - On May 13, 2019, the State 2 submitted its answering brief to the Court in response to the submission of the case, and to the brief with pleadings and motions (hereinafter "answering brief"), under the terms of Article 41 of the Court's Rules of Procedure. In this brief, the State presented three Preliminary objections to the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction in this case. 6. Observations on the preliminary objections. - On June 27 and July 4, 2019, the representatives and the Commission, respectively, presented their observations on the preliminary objections, in which they requested that these be dismissed by the Court. 7. Public hearing. – On December 8, 2021, the President of the Court issued an order, 3 in consultation with the plenum of the Court, by which it ordered to receive the statements admitted by the order of February 13, 2020. 4 Likewise, in that order, the President summoned the parties and the Commission to a public hearing that was held on February 10, 2022 5, in which three statements were received, as well as the observations and final oral arguments of the Commission, the representative of the alleged victims, and the State, respectively. The representative of the alleged victims is Rafael Humberto Subieta Tapia. The State appointed Messrs. Pablo Menacho Diederich, Attorney General of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Jaime Ernesto Rossell Arteaga, Deputy Solicitor General for Defense and Legal Representation of the State, and Ms. Yovanka Beatriz Oliden Tapia, General Director of Defense in Human Rights and Environment a.i., as Agents for this case. 3 Cf. Case of Flores Bedregal v. Bolivia. Call to hearing. Order from the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, dated December 8, 2021. Available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/flores_bedregal_08_12_2021.pdf 4 Cf. Case of Flores Bedregal v. Bolivia. Call to hearing. Order from the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, dated December 13, 2020. Available at: https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/asuntos/flores_bedregal_13_02_2020.pdf. By means of this Order, the President of the Court convened a public hearing to be held on March 18 and 19, 2020. This public hearing was suspended on March 11, 2020. in response to the "National Sanitary Guidelines for Coronavirus Infection Surveillance," issued by the Ministry of Public Health of Costa Rica. 5 The following appeared at this hearing: (a) for the Inter-American Commission: Pedro José Vaca Villarreal, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Commission, the attorney Jorge Meza Flores, and the attorney Analía Banfi Vique, of the Secretariat of the Commission, and the attorney César Mauricio González Flores, of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IAHCR; (b) by the representatives of the alleged victims: Rafael Humberto Subieta Tapia, Karinna Fernández Neira, and André Rodolfo Lange Schulze, and (c) for the Plurinational State of Bolivia: Jaime Mauricio Quiroga Carvajal, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to Costa Rica; Jhanneth Del Rosio Bustillos Bustillos, General Director of Human Rights and Environment Defense, and Ximena Miriam Fajardo Navarro, Head of the Case Unit in the Stage on the Merits and Human Rights Committee. 1 2 5