21 “on the grounds that they were insufficient to bring charges, without prejudice to their reopening should new facts come to light [...].”107 86. According to the petitioners, Yelitze Moreno de Castillo was not informed of the decision which ordered the investigation closed. Accordingly, in a letter of June 7, 2007, she requested the Office of the 83rd Public Prosecutor for the Judicial District of Metropolitan Caracas for information on the status of the investigation and was verbally informed of its closure. 108 In view of said information, Yelitze Moreno de Castillo presented a written communication to the Office of the Prosecutor General in which she requested a copy of the order to archive the investigation. In reply, by an official letter dated June 20, 2007, 109 the Office of the 20th Public Prosecutor with Full Criminal Jurisdiction in the Judicial District of the State of Zulia sent Yelitze Moreno de Castillo a copy of the notification of archive of November 28, 2006, accompanied by an official letter in which the Office of the 20th Public Prosecutor said that for the purposes of effective notification of the victim, the representative of the prosecutor's office agreed to deliver the notification to the attorney Isbely Chacón of the Apostolic Vicariate of Machiques on November 28, 2006. 110 For its part, the State informed the Commission that Yelitze Moreno de Castillo had been notified of the prosecutor's decision to archive the case on June 26, 2006.111 B. LEGAL ANALYSIS 1. Rights to life, humane treatment, and of the child (Articles 4(1), 5(1) and 19 of the American Convention) 87. Article 4(1) of the American Convention provides: Every person has the right to have his life respected. This right shall be protected by law and, in general, from the moment of conception. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. 88. For its part Article 5(1) of the American Convention provides, “Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity respected.” 89. Article 19 of the Convention stipulates: Every minor child has the right to the measures of protection required by his condition as a minor on the part of his family, society, and the state. 90. The Commission has taken it as proven that Joe Luis Castillo González was murdered on August 26, 2003, after being attacked with firearms while in his automobile in the company of his wife, Yelitze Moreno de Castillo, and their one-and-a-half-year-old son, Luis César Castillo Moreno, who were also shot and wounded. The parties do not dispute the abridgment of the rights to life and humane treatment as a result of the attack. Nor is there any dispute over the involvement of private citizens in the attack. The dispute centers on whether or not the events are imputable to the Venezuelan State. 91. In that regard, the petitioners argue that Venezuela breached its duty to prevent violations, bearing in mind the danger to which, they say, Joe Luis Castillo González was exposed as a human rights defender in the area where he was working. For its part, the Venezuelan State holds that it has adopted 107 Notice, November 28, 2006. Annex 3 of Petitioners’ brief on merits received at the IACHR on July 13, 2007. Not contested by the State. 108 Petitioners’ brief on merits received at the IACHR on July 13, 2007. Not contested by the State. 109 Official letter ZUL-20-1579-2007, June 20, 2007. Annex 3 of Petitioners’ brief on merits received at the IACHR on July 13, 2007. Not contested by the State. 110 Notice, November 28, 2006, and Official letter ZUL-20-1579-2007 of June 20, 2007. Annex 3 of Petitioners’ brief on merits received at the IACHR on July 13, 2007. Not contested by the State. 111 Official letter DFGR-VFGR-DGAP-DPDF-16-PRO-130-7447-07 for the Prosecutor General of the Republic. Attached to Note AGEV/000080 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, January 21, 2008.