10 came to the main entrance to the cellblock (the second gate) and did not open it immediately; instead they were slow to open the cellblock door. Hearing the inmates’ cries for help, all they did was fire their guns and shout insults at them (such as “Die, you sons of a bitch“, “old dogs”, “you’re not human”); (b) the interior gate of the Cellblock 19 was actually opened by the inmates themselves, using cement weights they used for exercising; and (c) on the day before the fire (which happened the next day in the early morning hours) they had not been given any water provisions, so that the sink the inmates were in the habit of filling to have water to drink was empty. This was confirmed by members of the fire department, who stated that when they entered the cellblock they observed that “the only water there was for the toilets.” 8 29. The record of the court case also contains the reports of the autopsies done on the inmates who perished in the prison fire; those autopsy reports show that at least 101 of the victims died from massive inhalation of carbon monoxide (asphyxiation by suffocation). 9 There is no evidence of any inmates wounded or killed by gunfire. 30. The petitioners supplied as evidence the testimony of Monsignor Rómulo Emiliani, Auxiliary Bishop of San Pedro Sula who, in the hours immediately following the fire, was present at the scene of the events. Monsignor Emiliani stated the following with respect to the fire and the events that followed: ON THE MORNING OF THE TRAGIC EVENT At 3:45 a.m. on the day of the tragedy, May 17, 2004, a police car arrived to pick me up at the bishop’s residence, because something serious had happened at the prison. […] When I arrived, I witnessed the grim spectacle: many bodies were lined up in rows, both outside the cellblock – in a walled patio which serves as the entrance way to their sleeping quarters- and inside cellblock. Accompanied by the surviving leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha, the prosecutors and the other forensic medical personnel on hand, we were identifying the bodies by the nicknames and names of the deceased. […] WHAT I HEARD FROM OTHER PRISONERS AND THE GUARDS’ ACCOUNTS I recall that some of the inmates in another cellblock were yelling and insulting the dead, practically saying “too bad everyone didn’t die”. The guards were nervous, still in shock from what had happened and several times said to me that the first thing they heard were screams from other cellblocks and smoke was spreading throughout the prison. The lights went out and everything was dark. They said that in fact, they didn’t know which cellblock was in trouble, since all the inmates were begging them to open the doors. When they realized which cellblock was the scene of the tragedy, they didn’t dare open the door for fear of a riot. It seems that the young men had a cement weight they use for exercising and managed to break down the door with that weight. The lock was hanging there. I tried to enter the cellblock, but the smell of the burned bodies and mattresses, the darkness and the smoke stopped me in my tracks. […] GIVING THE NAMES OF THE DECEASED TO THE NEXT OF KIN Arnol Leiva Paz (folio 208); Carlos Eduardo Cerna (folios 212-215); Carlos Hernán Mejía Aguilar (folios 216-217); Carlos Roberto Archaga (folio 218); Celio Alberto Valdez (folio 219); Denis Antonio Santos (folio 224); Alexander Ramírez (folios 230-231); Samuel Amaya Rodríguez (folios 232-233); Elías Leonard Sevilla Zelaya (folio 234); Edwin Alexander Cáceres Salinas (folios 238-239); Elvis Alfredo Soto (folios 241-242); Elvis Joel Lanza Hernández (folios 243-245); Erick Noel Navarro (folio 246); Francisco Jiménez Hernández (folio 248); Franklin Geovanny Chávez Jiménez (folios 249-250); Gilberto Núñez Cruz (folios 251-252); Gustavo Olivera (folios 253-258); Javier Alejandro Pineda Orellana (folios 264-265); Javier Antonio Hernández (folios 266-268); Jesús Humberto Marcia Mendoza (folios 269-270); Jorge Ulises Marroquín Amaya (folios 271272); José Anselmo Hernández (folios 273-274); José Antonio Rodríguez (folios 275-276); José Luis Chacón Estradas (folios 290-291); José Luis Valdez (folio 292); José Ricardo Cruz (folios 295-296); Juan Antonio Sabala (folios 297-298); and Juan Luis Iria Barahona (folios 301-302). 8 Original petition received on July 14, 2005. Annex 12. Case 1009/04. Folio 1458: Record of Initial Hearing. 9 Original petition received on July 14, 2005. Annex 14. Case 1009/04. Folios 360-522: Autopsy reports.