8. On 7 October 1997, during its 97th session, the Commission received the parties at a hearing and recommended that they meet to agree on the kind of precautionary measures to be granted to the petitioners by the State. 9. On 14 January 1998, the State submitted a document signed by officers of the National Civil Police (PNC) and Mr. Ramón Mauricio García Prieto-Giralt’s family in connection with the precautionary measures recommended by the Commission. 10. On 14 January 1998, the petitioners submitted additional information on developments in the case and on the precautionary measures adopted after the Commission made its request; they also expressed their dissatisfaction with those measures. 3 11. On 2 February 1998, the State reported that it had captured and placed in preventive custody the second physical perpetrator of the crime, Julio Ismael Díaz Ortiz, who had been recognized by Ramón Mauricio’s widow at an identity parade. 4 12. On 26 June 1998, the Government sent its final comments on the petitioners’ observations. It once again reported the preventive arrest of Julio Ismael Díaz Ortiz and also reported that the security and protection plan for the García-Prieto family had been put into place on 6 February 1998. 5 13. On 6 October 1998, a further hearing was held during the Commission’s 100th regular session; the parties once again submitted their different points of view on the case. The State invoked the effectiveness of the domestic remedies and of the precautionary measures adopted, while the petitioners claimed that those remedies and measures had been ineffective. During the session, the Commission asked the Salvadorian State to submit information on the measures adopted and, at the same time, asked the petitioners to provide information on their effectiveness. 14. On 19 October 1998, the State submitted the information requested and, among the different documents enclosed, sent the protection plan adopted for protecting the García-Prieto family and their lawyers. The State reported that nine officers of the National Police and three extra officers from the VIP Protection Division had been assigned to provide protection and that their activities were being coordinated by a PNC officer. It also submitted copies of court documents related to Julio Ismael Ortiz Díaz’s arrest. III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES A. The petitioners 15. The petitioners allege, inter alia, that on 10 June 1994, Mr. Ramón Mauricio García-Prieto Giralt, the son of Mr. Mauricio García-Prieto Hillerman, was murdered in the city of San Salvador. At the time, the victim was with his wife and was carrying his five-month-old son. The slaying was carried out by a group of unidentified individuals who were wearing some items of military-style clothing and had their faces covered. 16. The petitioners allege that the murder of Ramón Mauricio García-Prieto Giralt was carried out by individuals with ties to the armed forces. One of the killers, José Raúl Argueta Rivas, identified by the victim’s wife at an identity parade, served as an informer for the Salvadorian armed forces. Mr. Argueta Rivas, who was sentenced to a 30-year prison term on 22 July 1996, stated at trial that Sgt. Carlos Romero Alfaro (alias "Zaldaña") was the person responsible for the killing. To date, however, Romero Alfaro has not been indicted in this case. 17. The petitioners enclosed a Resolution dated 23 July 1996 from the Office of the Attorney for the Defense of Human Rights--the Salvadorian ombudsman, attached to the Department of Public Prosecutions--ruling that the motive for the crime was clearly murder, not theft, and 3 See page 562 4 See pages 572. 5 See page 586. 2