52 140. Therefore, the Court considers that the State violated Article 25 of the American Convention, in detriment of Mr. Alfredo López Álvarez, since it did not guarantee his access to effective judicial recourses that could protect him against the violations to his rights. b) Presumption of innocence 141. Article 8(2) of the Convention states that [e]very person accused of a criminal offense has the right to be presumed innocent so long as his guilt has not been proven according to law. 142. In their domestic law and in the application of the same by the competent authorities, the States must observe the exceptional nature of the preventive detention and respect the principle of presumption of innocence all throughout the process (supra paras. 67, 68, and 69). 143. In the present judgment it was established that Mr. Alfredo López Álvarez suffered an illegal and arbitrary preventive detention and that he remained imprisoned until August 26, 2003 (supra paras. 75 and 54(45)). 144. The alleged victim was detained for more than 6 years, without a reason that justified the preventive detention (supra paras. 74 and 78), which violated his right to be presumed innocent of the criminal offense he was being charged with. c) Right to a fair trial in the criminal process 145. This Court reiterates that the alleged victims or their representatives may invoke rights different to those included in the Commission’s application, as long as they stick to the facts included in the latter (supra para. 82). Therefore, the Court will analyze the violation of Article 8, subparagraphs 2(b), 2(d), 2(e), and 2(g) of the Convention, claimed by the representatives. 146. Article 8 establishes, in what is relevant, that: 2. […] During the proceedings, every person is entitled, with full equality, to the following minimum guarantees: […] b) prior notification in detail to the accused of the charges against him; […] d) the right of the accused to defend himself personally or to be assisted by legal counsel of his own choosing, and to communicate freely and privately with his counsel; e) the inalienable right to be assisted by counsel provided by the state, paid or not as the domestic law provides, if the accused does not defend himself personally or engage his own counsel within the time period established by law; […] g) the right not to be compelled to be a witness against himself or to plead guilty [.]