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had ordered were being provided to the persons in question. The Commission did
not submit observations on this report.
4.
The January 4, 1999 communication with which the State transmitted its
second report and noted that 24-hour security was being provided to the persons in
question and that the visits had confirmed that they “ha[d] not been threatened or
harmed in any way.” The Commission did not submit observations on this report.
5.
The State’s third report, dated May 6, 1999, wherein it stated that the
protective measures consisted of the “daily, round-the-clock patrolling and policing
done by National Civil Police officers, working in three shifts,” both at the workplace
and residence of Mr. Cabrera López and his family. Mr. Cabrera reported that
neither he nor anyone else in his family had received any threats.
6.
The June 3, 1999 letters from the President of the Court: the first addressed
to the State, asking it to “investigate the facts that necessitated adoption of
provisional measures, so as to identify those responsible and punish them
accordingly”; the second addressed to the Commission, reminding it of its obligation
to present its observations on the State’s reports within six weeks of their receipt.
7.
The Commission’s June 18, 1999 observations on the State’s third report
wherein it pointed out that the protection afforded to the individuals in question was
not round-the clock but every three days, and that Mr. Cabrera’s next of kin had
been threatened.
8.
The State’s fourth report, dated July 2, 1999, where it reasserted that the
protection was round-the-clock and that its recipients had not reported any threats.
As for the investigation, Mr. Santiago Cabrera López stated that “he was never
threatened and therefore never filed a complaint with the competent authority.” In
its August 19, 1999 observations, the Commission asserted that the measures of
protection and security that the State claimed to have provided were not provided.
It also underscored the fact that in the matter of the threats made to his niece, Mr.
Cabrera’s only contact had been the United Nations Verification Mission’s (MINUGUA)
human rights officer for the Department of Quetzaltenango.
9.
The State’s September 9, 1999 communication conveying its fifth report,
wherein it reiterated that the security measures described above (supra 8) were
being taken; it therefore denied the petitioners’ assertions. As for the investigation,
it pointed out that the competent authorities had not received any complaints of
threats and asked that “Mr. Cabrera López go to the Public Prosecutor’s Office” to
confirm the complaint and supply the facts for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to
investigate. In its October 21, 1999 observations on this report, the Commission
noted that the petitioners had indicated that they were satisfied with the visits made
by the State authorities to ensure the effectiveness of the protective measures and
were gratified that COPREDEH had intervened to bring the threats to the attention of
the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
10.
Guatemala’s sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth reports -dated November
10, 1999, January 18, March 8, May 11 and October 7, 2000, respectively- wherein
the State asserted that the round-the-clock protection provided to Mr. Santiago
Cabrera López and his next of kin was ongoing and that the individuals in question
had told State officials that they were not being threatened or harmed in any way.
As for the investigation, in the sixth report the State noted that Mr. Cabrera López