-31- 48(14) On January 23, 1992, the Legislative Assembly issued Legislative Decree No. 147 “National Reconciliation Act,” “granting an amnesty to all those who ha[d] participated as direct or indirect perpetrators or accomplices in committing ordinary political crimes[,] associated crimes, and ordinary crimes committed by at least 20 persons, prior to January 1, 1992, with the exception of the ordinary crime of abduction included in Article 220 of the Penal Code.” However, the State considered that the restrictions included in this law did not allow its general application to “all those who, irrespective of the sector to which they belonged in the armed conflict, participated in violent acts that left a mark on society,” which “was incompatible with the development of the democratic process.” Consequently, the State emitted Legislative Decree No. 486 “General Amnesty Act to consolidate Peace,” which entered into force on March 22, 1993, granting an “ample, absolute and unconditional amnesty to all those who, in any way, participated in committing political crimes, related common crimes, and common crimes committed by at least 20 persons, before March 1, 1992, even if judgment has been delivered against such persons, and whether or not proceedings have been initiated for the same crimes, and this benefit is conceded to all those who participated.” In addition, this decree established that, inter alia, those who had taken part in committing crimes of abduction and extortion would not be granted amnesty. HABEAS CORPUS PETITION FILED BY THE ALLEGED VICTIMS’ MOTHER 48(15) On November 13, 1995, María Victoria Cruz Franco asked the Constitutional Ch amber of the Supreme Court of Justice to grant a writ of habeas corpus in favor of her daughters, Ernestina and Erlinda Serrano Cruz, owing to their “alleged abduction by members of the Atlacatl Battalion in [the] military operation carried out on June 2, 1982” and indicated, inter alia, that “Captain José Alfredo Jiménez Moreno[,] Officer Rolando Adrian Ticas[,] governmental and non-governmental institutions[…] and the Salvadoran Red Cross c[ould] have information” on their whereabouts. 48(16) On November 20, 1995, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice appointed a “university graduate” as “executing officer” for the writ of habeas corpus to order “the authorit[ies] who [had] restricted the] liberty [of the sisters, Ernestina and Erlinda Serrano Cruz]” to present them and explain the motive for this restriction. 48(17) On December 6, 1995, the executing officer visited the Ministry of National Defense and notified the “head of the Legal Department” of the Ministry [of the writ of habeas corpus]. The latter stated that Captain José Alfredo Jiménez Moreno and Officer Rolando Adrián Ticas were “no longer enrolled in the institution” and provided their addresses, which “m[ight] not be the addresses where they [were] currently registered.” On December 6 and 7, 1995, the executing officer visited those addresses to find the captain and the officer. However, she was unable to find them, because no one knew the former at the address she had been given, and she was unable to find the latter’s address. 48(18) On December 9, 1995, the executing officer visited the Salvadoran Red Cross and notified the head of its Tracing Office of the writ of habeas corpus; the latter showed her a document certifying that on June 16, 1982, “a kind of aide mémoire or report was drawn up[, which indicated] that [the] program to provide counseling and