A. The petitioners 13. The petitioners, in handwritten submissions to the Commission, report the facts of which their father was allegedly a victim: Mr. Vinicio Antonio Poblete Vilches (hereinafter the alleged victim). They state that on January 17, 2001 they called an ambulance because the alleged victim, 76 years of age, had problems with breathing. The ambulance, which according to them was late in arriving, took the alleged victim to the emergency unit of the Complejo Asistencial Doctor Sótero del Río [Dr. Sótero del Río Medical Complex], a public hospital in Santiago, Chile (hereinafter “Sótero del Río Hospital” or “the hospital”). 14. According to the petitioners, the alleged victim was kept in the Intensive Care Unit of the aforementioned hospital, until January 22, 2001, when he was moved to one of the hospital’s wards. The petitioners, who personally accompanied Mr. Poblete Vilches during his stay in the hospital, maintain that the alleged victim received degrading treatment in the hospital. In particular, they complain that Mr. Poblete Vilches went hungry; that he was kept in a drugged state and unconscious; and that he was naked and his hands and legs were tied, which prevented blood circulation. They state that the hospital physicians were overbearing with the petitioners and other next of kin of Mr. Poblete; they were humiliated by the doctors when they asked for information on the alleged victim’s state of health, they were kept from viewing the medical record to learn about the treatment he was receiving, and even restricted family visits. 15. The petitioners claim they informed the hospital that the alleged victim suffered from two types of diabetes, and therefore he could not undergo surgery. They state that on January 26 the alleged victim underwent surgery without his next of kin having been informed or without requesting their authorization. In fact, they report that in said clinic an authorization was forged to carry out the operation: the alleged authorization appears as written and signed by Blanca Margarita Tapia Encina, who did not know how to read or write. Moreover, the medical record shows Ms. Tapia Encina authorizing surgery for her father, when Mr. Poblete Vilches was in fact her husband. They further contend that they were informed after surgery had been performed “to determine if he had fluids in the heart” but after the operation they found three large wounds on the right side of his waist, to which a drainage tube was attached. 4