29. The petition presents as alleged victims Mr. Damas Vega Atencio and members of his family: Anabella Alfaro Flores, former spouse31; Yaritza Vega Alfaro, daughter; Alison Alondra Vega Alfaro, grand-daughter (daughter of Yaritza Vega Alfaro); Patricia Vega Alfaro, daughter; Anet Vega Alfaro, grand-daughter (daughter of Patricia Vega Alfaro); Rebeca Vega Alfaro, daughter, Raquel Vega Alfaro, daughter; and Axel Damián Vega Alfaro, son32. According to the petition, Mr. Damas Vega Atencio was tried in two criminal trials that ended in judgments: 1) No. 106-2002,handed down on October 2, 2002, by the Criminal Court of the Judicial Circuit of the Southern Zone, Ciudad Neily, Corredores, which sentenced him to twenty- years’ prison as perpetrator of two concurrent criminal offenses of attempted criminal homicide and aggravated robbery; and 2) judgment No. 92-2002 handed down on April 4, 2002 by the Court of the First Judicial Circuit of the Atlantic Zone, which convicted him as the perpetrator of the crime of aggravated robbery and sentenced him to three years, four months’ imprisonment. He alleges the State violated Articles 2, 5, 7, 8, 17, 19, 24 and 25 of the American Convention in relation to Article 1.1 thereof, and the rights set forth in Articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention, the “Protocol of San Salvador” were violated to the prejudice of himself and, as pertinent, his family. 30. He alleges a number of violations of due process during the handling of the criminal cases filed against him33. He also alleges inadequate prison conditions, and in particular, that the medical care and diet are insufficient, especially for people who require a special diet because of their illness.He states that he has diabetes, that he had been without medical care for around four months, and that care was provided to him after he had filed a petition for a writ of amparo34. He also alleges that conditions in the detention center are unhygienic, the sanitary facilities are inadequate, and abuses are committed during security checks, both of prisoners and of visitors35.He adds that there are security problems, and no protection in the prison. He further states that the practice of physical and psychological torture and mistreatment has been noted. In this regard, he says that the prison staff had the practice of beating prisoners with sticks, kicking them, and using mustard gas 36. He alleges that they are hindered in their filing of complaints, and that in his case, he was the victim of reprisals by the penitentiary system on account of the complaints that he had filed. 31. With regard to his detention in the “La Reformat” detention center, he alleges that it caused the breakdown of his family, because they were able to visit him only once a year, and that he could not have conjugal visits with his wife, because the center is 400 km. away from his home and transportation is very costly37.He also claims that the entire family is dependent on Mr. Damas Vega Atencio and that the State had not provided them with protection or assistance.He also maintains that he is not adequately paid for the work he does in the prison, which would allow him to maintain his family. 31 Mrs. Alfaro Vega –married to the alleged victim at the time of his conviction- alleges that the State violated Article 5 of the Convention with regard to herself and her children, because the sentence imposed on her now ex-husband had adversely affected his family, because of the place of detention and the change in living conditions. She states that three of the petitioner’s children and his grand-daughters are young children, and require special protection from the State in accordance with Article 19 of the Convention. 32 The petitioner also identified his mother: Anabelle Alfaro Flores, his 13 siblings and 5 nieces and nephewsOn October 29, 2008, he requested that his domestic partner, Patricia Núñez Garita, be considered as a victim. 33 The petitioner also alleges that the rules of the Criminal Code violate the principle of the rule of law, because law No. 4.573 that enacted the Criminal Code had been unlawfully altered on two occasions (Nos. 7538 and 7732), beginning with Articles 374 and 375, making use of a legislative technique of wrong numbering.He alleges that Article 213 of the Penal Code does not establish clearly and precisely what conduct is unlawful, and that it also violates the principle of the rule of law. 34 He also alleges that no ambulances are available for those who are ill or wounded. 35 The petitioner alleges that these are done illegally, touching the genitals of persons searched and that at times, they have been asked to “undress completely”. 36 He states that on September 28, 2008, he was transferred to a maximum security cell for having led a hunger strike to protest the living conditions in the prison, that he was kept incommunicado for 27 hours, and that he was not allowed at that time to present an incident complaint to the judge supervising execution of the sentence, but that he did present it subsequently. 37 The petitioner alleges that he has filed a number of requests to be transferred to the detention center closer to his home, but without a positive response. 7