55 this alone [is not] sufficient to deny the competence of witnesses to attest before the Court [because it would be] contradictory, under the American Convention on Human Rights, to deny a priori a witness the possibility of testifying about material facts of a case submitted to the Court, because he was being prosecuted or had even been convicted in a domestic proceeding, even if the said case referred to matters that affect it61. 118. With regard to the State's objection relating to the marriage of Jennifer Harbury and Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, this Court considers that the said union was proved during this proceeding (infra 121 c). In relation to Jennifer Harbury's alleged financial interest, the Court repeats that this circumstance does not disqualify the competence of a witness. 119. In accordance with these criteria, the Court attributes probative value to the declarations of the witnesses Harbury, Cabrera López and de la Roca Mendoza that were objected by the State. It is important to emphasize that, unlike other cases of forced disappearance in which the available evidence is limited to hearsay and circumstantial evidence62, in this case, the Court has the direct testimonies of Santiago Cabrera López and Otoniel de la Roca Mendoza, to form an opinion. 120. The State had the opportunity to present its own witnesses and to reject the evidence provided by the Commission in its application, but did not do this. Moreover, although the State did reject some of the points put forward by the Commission, it did not provide evidence to support this rejection. IX PROVEN FACTS 121. The Court now proceeds to consider the relevant facts that it finds have been proved, which it will present chronologically. They result from the examination of the documents provided by the State and the Inter-American Commission, and also the documentary, testimonial and expert evidence submitted in the instant case. a) Efraín Bámaca Velásquez was born on June 18, 1957, on the El Tablero property, El Tumbador, San Marcos63. b) At the time when the facts relating to this case took place, Guatemala was convulsed by an internal conflict64. c) Jennifer Harbury and Efraín Bámaca Velásquez met in 1990 and were married in the State of Texas, United States, on September 25, 199165. 61 Cf. Godínez Cruz Case, supra note 53, para. 51. 62 Cf. Blake Case, supra note 52, para. 51 and, similarly, Castillo Páez Case, supra note 52, paras. 50-53. 63 Cf. Declaration and registration of marriage in Travis County, Texas, United States of America of June 22, 1993, Annex 19; official record of interview with Jennifer Harbury of November 3, 1994, in the Public Ministry, Annex 47; Human Rights Watch/Americas, Disappeared in Guatemala: The Case of Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, March 1995, Annex 51; and Report of the Commission for Historical Clarification, Tome VII. 64 Cf. REMHI report, Tome III; Report of the Commission for Historical Clarification, Tome I; and final arguments of the State during the public hearing held at the seat of the Court on June 16, 17 and 18, 1998.