began in the military courts on December 18, 1996, was incorrect. On the contrary, when the events occurred it was a Military Judge who gave the order not to send the bodies to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, which would have been the proper procedure; instead, he ordered them sent to the Police Hospital, where physicians on the police force conducted incomplete autopsies. It was the military judge who ordered the remains buried, unidentified, in remote cemeteries. All this was to give the impression that the Military Courts had instituted proceedings before the civilian courts. The sole purpose was to cover up the crimes committed. 33. The petitioners stress that the military courts never intended to investigate its members. Indeed, two of the accused - José Williams Zapata and Manuel Paz Ramos- were promoted on November 8, 2003. The promotions were criticized in the press since the two men were to stand trial in the military courts. Soon thereafter, a decision was handed down on October 15, 2003, in which the Military Court-martial decided to dismiss the charges of violation of international law, abuse of authority and qualified homicide against all those accused. The decision was not made public until November 12, after the promotions had gone into effect. 34. The petitioners consider that these events simply confirm that the military justice system cannot be regarded as competent to investigate and prosecute the members of the armed forces who took part in the Chavín de Huántar operation. Hence, it cannot be regarded as an effective recourse, precisely because it lacks impartiality and objectivity. They therefore ask the Inter-American Commission to declare the complaint admissible. B. The State 35. The State, for its part, argued that on December 17, 1996, members of the “Tupac Amaru” Revolutionary Movement, armed with AKM rifles, UZI sub-machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), Browning automatic rifles, revolvers, hand grenades, explosives, anti-gas masks, and other armaments, used force to enter the property through a number of areas. They managed to overpower the security guards. They stormed the residence and took hostage all residents and guests. Their purpose was to force the Government to meet a number of demands, mainly having to do with the release of MRTA members being held in various prisons across the country, and to win certain concessions in the conduct of their subversive activities. When a high level commission was formed to negotiate with the leaders of the terrorist commando group, the majority of those being held hostage in the residence were released. When negotiations stalled on January 17, 1997, 72 people remained hostage. 36. The “Chavín de Huántar” operation’s raid was on April 22, 1997; "(...) some of the hostages, who frequently sent messages to the Armed Forces intelligence team through microphones installed in the residence, reported that only one subversive was on the second floor of the residence, looking after the hostages; the others, including their leader, Nestor Cerpa Cartolini, were on the first floor (...). Peruvian Army Major Jose Luis Cortijo Arbulu and Peruvian Army Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Huaman Ascurra received the messages. The latter immediately reported the news to Peruvian Army Colonel Williams Zapata, Peruvian Army Colonel Robles del Castillo and Peruvian Army Colonel Cabrera Pino. The message was also transmitted to the advisor at the time, Vladimiro Montesinos Torres, so that he might coordinate the operation with former president Alberto Fujimori and Army General Commander Nicolás de Bari Hermoza Ríos..." 37. A total of 71 people were released in that action. But the raid also claimed the lives of the President of the Supreme Court at the time, Dr. Carlos Giusti Acuña, commandos Army Lieutenant Colonel Juan Valer Sandoval and Army Lieutenant Raúl Jiménez Chávez and the fourteen MRTA rebels. 38. On May 24, 2002, the Special Criminal Prosecutor Richard Saavedra Lujan filed formal charges against Vladimiro Montesinos Torres, Nicolás de Bari Hermoza Rios, Roberto Edmundo Huaman Ascurra, Augusto Jaime Patiño, José Williams Zapata, Luis Alatrista Torres, Carlos Tello Aliaga, Benigno Leonel Cabrera Pino, Jorge Orlando Fernández Robles, Hugo Víctor Robles 6