38 stated that “an essential aspect of the right to personal security is the absolute prohibition of torture, a peremptory norm of international law creating obligations erga omnes.”197 It has also determined the prohibition of torture to be a norm of jus cogens.198 Furthermore, the Inter-American Court has repeatedly held that “torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment are strictly prohibited by international human rights law. The absolute prohibition of torture, both physical and mental, is currently part of the international jus cogens.”199 The Court has also noted that the universal and regional instruments enshrine that prohibition and the inalienable right not to be tortured.200 161. According to the jurisprudence of the inter-American system, for an act to be considered torture, the following elements must be present: (i) it must be an intentional act, (ii) which causes severe physical or mental suffering, and (iii) which is committed with a given purpose or aim.201 Before analyzing the facts of the case in the light of these elements, the Commission again states that in cases involving allegations of torture, such as the one at hand, people do not have mechanisms to prove the acts of violence committed against them.202 162. According to José Agapito Ruano Torres’s statement, he was: (i) beaten and pushed to the ground while asleep, (ii) dragged along the floor to the door of his home, (iii) throttled with a rope, (iv) his limbs trodden on and beaten, and (v) threatened with death. That description is consistent with the statements made by his wife María Maribel Guevara. Similarly, the clinical report prepared by the National Civilian Police Medical Services Unit on the day of Mr. Ruano Torres’s arrest indicates that he had lacerations to the neck, chest, and shoulders, and scars on his nose and thighs. 163. Given the description offered by Mr. Ruano Torres and his family, which concurs with the report of his medical examination, it can be concluded that he was subjected to acts of violence of a level sufficient to satisfy the severe or intense harm aspect of torture. This conclusion is reinforced by the absence of a diligent investigation by the State. 197 IACHR, Report on Terrorism and Human Rights, OEA/SER.L/V/II.116, Doc. 5 rev. 1, corr., October 22, 2002. Citing: IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106, Doc. 40 rev., February 28, 2000, para. 118. 198 IACHR, Report on Terrorism and Human Rights, OEA/SER.L/V/II.116, Doc. 5 rev. 1, corr., October 22, 2002. Citing: IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights of Asylum Seekers within the Canadian Refugee Determination System, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106, Doc. 40 rev., February 28, 2000, para. 154. 199 I/A Court H. R., Case of Bueno Alves, Judgment of May 11, 2007, Series C No. 164, para. 76; I/A Court H. R., Case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison, Judgment of November 25, 2006, Series C No. 160, para. 271; and I/A Court H. R., Case of Baldeón García, Judgment of April 6, 2006, Series C No. 147, para. 117. 200 I/A Court H. R., Case of Bueno Alves, Judgment of May 11, 2007, Series C No. 164, para. 77. Citing: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Art. 7; Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Art. 2; Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 37, and International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families, Art. 10; Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, Art. 2; African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Art. 5; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Art. 16; Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará), Art. 4, and European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Art. 3; Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, Principle 6; Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, Art. 5; United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, Rule 87(a); Declaration on the Human Rights of Individuals who are not Nationals of the Country in which they Live, Art. 6; United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), Rule 17.3. 201 IACHR, Report No. 5/96, Case 10.970, Merits, Raquel Martín Mejía, Peru, March 1, 1996, Section 3, Analysis; and I/A Court H. R., Case of Bueno Alves, Judgment of May 11, 2007, Series C No. 164, para. 79. 202 I/A Court H. R., Case of Cabrera García and Montiel Flores v. Mexico, Judgment of November 26, 2010, Series C No. 220, para. 128.