nature. This chilling effect can only be avoided, according to the Commission, “by swift action on the part of the State to punish all perpetrators, as is its duty under international and domestic law”. 165. It has been ascertained that Vladimir Herzog was a journalist with a renowned domestic and international experience, and a leading professional of prestige among his colleagues. He was the editor-inchief of a public television channel with an important background of investigative journalism. Undoubtedly, the viciousness of the torture he suffered and his murder were a message to discourage any critical and dissenting voices in journalism and political activism at that time in Brazil. 166. To this extent, the IACHR believes that the serious violations of the rights of journalist Vladimir Herzog had an intimidating and chilling effect on other journalists critical of the military regime and coworkers of TV Cultura, and on the community of people who were active in the Brazilian Communist Party or sympathetic to its ideas. 167. Based on these considerations, the Commission concludes that the State is responsible for the violation of the right to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association for political purposes of journalist Vladimir Herzog, recognized in Articles IV and XXII of the American Declaration. The Commission has no information enabling it to determine the need for a separate decision on Article XXI of the American Declaration.297 C. Analysis of the violation of Article XVIII (Right to a fair trial) of the American Declaration, Article 8 (Fair Trial) and Article 25 (Judicial Protection) of the Convention, in relation to Article 1.1 (Obligation to Respect Rights) and Article 2 (Domestic Legal Effects) of said instrument, and Articles 1, 6 and 8 of the InterAmerican Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture 168. In this chapter, the IACHR will analyze the international responsibility of the State for actions relating to the investigation of the torture and execution of journalist Vladimir Herzog and the access of his family to justice. As mentioned, this study refers to events that happened before Brazil ratified the American Convention and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture. Therefore, the source of law applicable to any of these events is the American Declaration. As of July 20, 1989 and September 25, 1992, and as appropriate, the analysis will be carried out under the American Convention and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture. 169. In this regard, the Commission will examine the alleged human rights violations related to the following actions at the domestic level: i) the Military Police investigation into the death of Vladimir Herzog; ii) the procedure for the declaration of a civil action before the Federal Court of São Paulo; and iii) the criminal investigation in the ordinary court for the arbitrary detention, torture and death of the journalist. i. Military Police Investigation into the death of Vladimir Herzog 170. The IACHR has noted that the State is not only responsible for respecting and guaranteeing the exercise of the rights of a person deprived of liberty. In its capacity as guarantor, it is also required to provide accurate information, and all evidence related to what happens to the detainee while in custody. This duty stems from the general obligation, of the States themselves, to guarantee the free and full exercise of the rights recognized in the American Declaration, as well as the right of victims of human rights violations or their relatives to have substantial possibilities of being heard and to act in the respective proceedings, both in order to clarify the facts and punish those responsible, and to have access to effective judicial remedies to this end, substantiated in accordance with the rules of due process. 297 In the merits stage the petitioners also alleged that the arbitrary detention, torture and execution of Vladimir Herzog was a violation of the right to peaceful assembly, recognized in Article XXI of the American Declaration, which states that “[e]very person has the right to assemble peaceably with others in a formal public meeting or an informal gathering, in connection with matters of common interest of any nature.” 39