23 his family, comprised of his wife Aracelly Román Amariles and his children Mateo and Juliana Vélez Román. 113. As already established, after the August 29, 1996, attack, Mr. Vélez and his family suffered a number of threats and acts of harassment culminating in the attempted kidnapping on October 6, 1997. These events brought about substantial changes in their way of life and profound feelings of tension and fear among the family members. In the Gutiérrez Soler case, the InterAmerican Court considered that "a campaign of threats, harassment, surveillance, arrests, searches and attempts against their lives and physical integrity" of the victim and his family which produced "constant fear, distress and family separation" constituted a violation of Article 5.1 of the Convention. 78 The Commission considers that, in accordance with this interpretation, the repeated threats in the present case breached the family members' right to moral and mental integrity, also taking into account that the threats were aimed at preventing Mr. Vélez from seeking justice. 79 The Commission has established that there are sufficient indications to conclude that the threats, acts of harassment and attempted kidnapping originated from agents of the State of Colombia. Consequently, in relation to these facts, the State violated Article 5.1 of the Convention to the prejudice of Mr. Vélez and his family. 114. Without prejudice to the direct responsibility of the State for the commission of these acts, the IACHR proceeds to examine whether the State has fulfilled its duty of guarantee 80 in the present case, in particular its obligation to reasonably prevent the threats, acts of harassment and the attempted kidnapping, and to investigate these facts in a serious manner. 81 115. With respect to the protection provided to Mr. Vélez, the State argues that there is no proof of the complaints allegedly filed by the petitioners, and that once the threats were brought to the attention of the competent authorities in October 1997, the State immediately provided Mr. Vélez and his family with alternative means of protection. 82 116. In this regard, the Commission reiterates the consistent doctrine of the InterAmerican system, according to which it is in principle the State that has control of the means to clarify acts occurring within its territory and, as such, its defense cannot be based on the fact that the claimant finds it impossible to produce evidence which, in many cases, cannot be obtained without the cooperation of the state authorities themselves. 83 In this case, there is documentary evidence of the complaints made to the Procurator General of the Nation in September 1996 84 and 78 Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Gutiérrez Soler v Colombia. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 12, 2005. Series C No. 132, paras.56-57. See also, I/A Court H.R., Case of Tibi v Ecuador. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 7, 2004. Series C No. 114, para.147; I/A Court H.R., Case of Myrna Mack Chang v Guatemala. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 25, 2003. Series C No. 101, para.226. 79 Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Manuel Cepeda Vargas v Colombia. Preliminary Objections, Merits and Reparations. Judgment of May 26, 2010. Series C No. 213, para.195. 80 Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para.174., para.182. 81 Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para.174., para.177; Case of Manuel Cepeda Vargas v Colombia. Preliminary Objections, Merits and Reparations. Judgment of May 26, 2010. Series C No. 213, para.125. 82 State’s brief received on August 4, 2009, p. 11. 83 Cf. I/A Court H.R., Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, paras.135-136; I/A Court H.R., Case of Ríos et al. v Venezuela. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 28, 2009. Series C No. 194, para.98. 84 Initial Petition received on July 29, 2005, p. 12; Annex 30, Hans Sarmiento's Letter, Chief Editor, Noticias Colombia Program, to Dr. Ramón Alberto Puentes, National Director of Special Investigations, Procurator General of the Nation's Office, September 11, 1996.