10. The petitioners say that, according to the autopsy, the deaths occurred between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. on September 17, 1995, and that there is a similar pattern or modus operandi, which indicates the same perpetrator or perpetrators. All of the victims were clandestinely held during their arbitrary detention; all were threatened with death by members of the police prior to their detention; and all were murdered with the same firearm in the space of a few hours. 6 11. On March 5, 1996, the father of one of the victims, Mr. Betancourt, filed a criminal accusation with the First Lower Court for Criminal Matters. On May 6, the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights of the Attorney General's Office applied for arrest warrants for several FUSEP agents and for police judge Roxana Sierra on the charges of murder, abuse of authority, violation of duties of public employees, and illegal detention to the detriment of the public administration. 12. The petitioners allege that even though the court file contained sufficient evidence against the accused, including expert opinions from the Coroner's Office at the Attorney General's Office, judicial inspections, and statements from witnesses, the First Lower Court for Criminal Matters refused the application for arrest warrants "for insufficient grounds". 7 The Court also rejected the motion for the reversal of its decision presented by Mr. Betancourt, the father of one of the victims, and by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights. 8 On August 6, 1996, the First Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling. 9 After an appeal was denied, in a new effort to obtain justice the Office of the Special Prosecutor continued to seek remedies, which, to this day, more than six years after the murders, have failed to lead to the identification and prosecution of the culprits. 13. In light of the foregoing, the petitioners request that the instant petition be declared admissible based on the exceptions provided at Article 46(2) (a) and (c) of the Convention, on the grounds that there has been an unwarranted delay in administration of justice and that the domestic remedies available to the victims were not effective. B. THE STATE 14. The State expressly invoked the objection of failure to exhaust remedies under domestic law in accordance with Article 46(1)(a) and said that those remedies were still being processed. The State also referred to the proceedings conducted in 1995 and 1996, 10 to which the petitioners had already referred in their petition, 11 although it said that the accusation filed with the First Lower Court for Criminal Matters against the agents of the National Police, the police judge, and the public administration was presented by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights on September 17, 1995. It also stated that the arrest warrants for the accused were requested by that office on August 6, 1996, and that on the same day the judge presiding over the case denied the request for insufficient grounds. The Honduran State also provided information on a number of new measures adopted and on others that were pending. 12 6 According to the opinion of the ballistics expert at the Criminal Investigation Directorate the projectiles removed from the victims' corpses "were fired by the same firearm: a 38SPL revolver." (Appendix 1 of the complaint). 7 See procedural ruling at page 288 (Appendix 1). 8 9 See pp.289 and 292 (Appendix 1). See pp.298 and 299 (Appendix 1). 10 The State provided information on the following proceedings conducted between 1995 and 1996: Formal accusation presented by the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights on September 17, 1995; performance of autopsies; taking of statements from witnesses; inspections of the Offices of Regional Command Nº 7; application for arrest warrants for the accused (this application was denied; therefore the Office of the Special Prosecutor in charge of the case appealed the decision) (See Report of the State of September 10, 2001). 11 See original petition brief of October 11, 2000. 12 The State informed that it has requested the criminology laboratories at the Attorney General's Office for the ballistics report on the case to determine if there is any link with other crimes. Efforts continue to locate other youths who are thought might know about other crimes that occurred in similar circumstances. (See Reply of the State of September 10, 2001). 3