of those occasions [he] had an accident.”309 In this regard, Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal stated that Pablo Andrés Velásquez fell to pieces, “he almost destroyed himself,” and it was Pablo Andrés who was most affected by the death of Claudina Velásquez, “owing to the closeness of his ties to his sister.”310 216. Like his parents, Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz expressed his “pain” and “anger” on hearing the investigator who visited the house “justify the negligence in the processing of the crime scene by the fact that [his] sister appeared to be a ‘loose woman’” and, therefore, “they had considered that it was not worth investigating.” According to Pablo Andrés Velásquez, “the words of the investigator hurt me and offended me deeply, and I still feel angry thinking that the State authorities are more interested in making excuses for not having done their work than […] in investigating.”311 217. Lastly, it is worth pointing out that the Guatemalan Ombudsman concluded that “the failure of public servants, including the police, the forensic physician and the Public Prosecution Service to act with due diligence to prevent and to investigate” the facts of the case, “resulted in the violation of the right to legal certainty [and] personal integrity of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz [and] her next of kin.” According to the Ombudsman, the Velásquez Paiz family “had to suffer the indifference, lack of interest and negligence of the prosecutors, which obliged them to repeat the same facts innumerable times, with the consequent pain and emotional harm to the family members.”312 Similarly, the psychiatrist, Karen Denisse Peña Juárez, stated that: Unfinished mourning and the need to play an active role in the investigation procedure into the crime against their daughter has been reinforced by the conditions that reigned within the State’s system of justice, which have made them collateral victims of negligence, abuse of power and authority, and indifference. In addition, their safety has not been ensured and their dignity has not been respected. This situation has caused the family to feel that the State lies and also attacks them, and this increases the feeling of helplessness and frustration when the legal situation is not resolved and the truth is not uncovered. [The expert witness also indicated that the father, mother and brother of Claudina Velásquez] are collateral victims of the crime and have been revictimized peripherally because it is they who have had to provide evidence and urge that the case be resolved, becoming monitors of the whole process and, despite this, they have not obtained answers. Added to this, they have been subject to the opinions of the media and the public, and the indifference towards the case and of the institutions that should provide health care services and justice.313 218. Based on the above, the Court concludes that the State violated the personal integrity of the next of kin of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz owing to the way in which the investigation of the case was conducted; in particular, the way in which the agents of the Public Prosecution Service burst into the wake being held for Claudina Velásquez; her categorization as a person whose death did not merit investigation, and the irregularities and deficiencies throughout the whole investigation, in which Mr. Velásquez Durán has been particularly active. All of this constitutes a violation of Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1), to the detriment of Jorge Rolando Velásquez Durán, Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal and Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz. 219. In addition, the Court recalls that Article 11 of the American Convention establishes that “everyone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized,” prohibits any unlawful attacks on honor or reputation, and imposes on the State the obligation to provide “the Cf. Affidavit prepared by Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz on April 9, 2015 (evidence file, folios 6690 and 6691). Cf. Affidavit prepared by Elsa Claudina Paiz Vidal on April 9, 2015 (evidence file, folio 6702). 311 Cf. Affidavit prepared by Pablo Andrés Velásquez Paiz on April 9, 2015 (evidence file, folio 6689). 312 Cf. The Ombudsman’s Report on verification of violations of the obligation to investigate in the case of Claudina Isabel Velásquez Paiz (evidence file, folios 3319 and 3320). 313 Cf. Report of psychiatrist Karen Denisse Peña Juárez provided during the proceeding before the Inter-American Commission (evidence file, folio 203). 309 310 74