37 methods upon a person intended to obliterate the personality of the victim or to diminish his physical or mental capacities, even if they do not cause physical pain or mental anguish. 174. According to the jurisprudence of the inter-American system, for an act to be considered torture, the following elements must be present: (a) an intentional act, (b) which causes severe physical 161 or mental suffering, (c) committed with a given purpose or aim. The Inter-American Court has ruled that “threats and real danger of submitting a person to physical injuries produces, in certain circumstances, a 162 moral anguish of such degree that it may be considered psychological torture.” 175. The Court has also stated that injuries, suffering, damage to health, or harm suffered by an individual while he is deprived of liberty may become a form of cruel punishment when, owing to the circumstances of his imprisonment, there is a deterioration in his physical, mental, and moral integrity, 163 which is strictly prohibited by Article 5.2 of the Convention. 176. The Inter-American Court has also said that people deprived of freedom are in a situation of particular vulnerability, and so the competent authorities are obliged to adopt measures to protect their 164 physical integrity and the dignity inherent to all human beings. In addition, it has held that the State may be held responsible for torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment if the authorities fail to conduct 165 a rigorous investigation into such incidents committed against people held in its custody. 177. The Commission and the Inter-American Court have said that the State’s obligation of respecting the physical integrity of persons held in custody, of not using cruel and inhuman treatment, and of respecting inherent human dignity also includes assuring them access to appropriate medical 166 attention. Acts of violence at the premises of the DIVISE and the DINCOTE 178. As has been established, since the moment of her arrest on April 17, 1993, Gladys Carol Espinoza was subjected to beatings, humiliations, and threats. Upon being taken to the DIVISE facility in the city of Lima, the victim was subjected to interrogations during which she was blindfolded, hung from her arms, plunged into a tank of fetid water, and beaten on sensitive parts of her body, including the head, face, lumbar region, and the soles of her feet. On April 19, 1993, she was transferred to a DINCOTE facility, where she was kept incommunicado for the first days and continued to be beaten and threatened. 161 IACHR, Report No. 5/96, Case 10.970, Merits, Raquel Martín Mejía, Peru, March 1, 1996, section 3, Analysis; and I/A Court H. R., Case of Bueno Alves, Judgment of May 11, 2007, Series C No. 164, para. 79. 162 I/A Court H. R., Case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of November 25, 2006, Series C No. 160, para. 272; Case of Baldeón García, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of April 6, 2006, Series C No. 147, para. 119; Case of Tibi, Judgment of September 7, 2004, Series C No. 114, para. 147; and Case of Maritza Urrutia, Judgment of November 27, 2003, Series C No. 103, para. 92. 163 I/A Court H. R., Case of Lori Berenson Mejía, Judgment of November 25, 2004, Series C No. 119, para. 101. 164 See also: U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 at 176 (1992), Human Rights Committee, General Comment 21, para. 3; European Court of Human Rights, Case of Dzieciak v. Poland, Application No. 77766/01, Judgment of December 9, 2008; European Court of Human Rights, Case of Slimani v. France, Application No. 57671/00, Judgment of July 27, 2004, para. 28. 165 I/A Court H. R., Case of Baldeón García, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of April 6, 2006, Series C No. 147, para. 120; and The “Street Children” Case (Villagrán Morales et al.), Judgment of November 19, 1999, Series C No. 63, para. 170. See also: ECHR, Yavuz v. Turkey, Judgment of January 10, 2006, App. No. 67137/01, para. 38; ECHR, Aksoy v. Turkey, Judgment of December 18, 1996, App. No. 100/1995/606/694, paras. 61 and 62; and ECHR, Tomasi v. France, Judgment of August 27, 1992, Series A No. 241-A, paras. 108 to 111. 166 IACHR, Application to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Case 11.535, Pedro Miguel Vera Vera, Ecuador, February 24, 2010, para. 42. See also: I/A Court H. R., Case of Montero Aranguren et al. (Detention Center of Catia), Judgment of July 5, 2006, Series C No. 150, paras. 102 and 103; Case of De la Cruz Flores, Judgment of November 18, 2004, Series C No. 115, para. 132; and Case of Tibi, Judgment of September 7, 2004, Series C No. 114, para. 157.