what was happening, two unknown individuals, with stockings over their heads, struck him several times in an attempt to leave him unconscious. They then told him to get dressed, placed him in the trunk of one of the cars parked at the house, and drove for 25 minutes before stopping the car. Mr. Martín del Campo claims that he managed to open the trunk, after which he went off in search of help; he finally reached a Federal Highway Police station on the Cuernavaca road. 6.According to the complaint, one of the police officers accompanied Mr. Martín del Campo back to the vehicle. There they found a glove and a knife, which the victim recognized as the one that his unknown assailants had used to threaten him. He was then taken back home by another officer. Upon arriving he saw an ambulance parked in front of the house and was told that his sister and brother-in-law had been murdered. Mr. Martín del Campo was then taken to the Benito Juárez precinct complex where, the petitioners claim, he was tortured by officers of the judicial police: They placed a plastic bag over his entire head; they then squeezed the bag so he would not get enough air, while the judicial police officers wrote up their version of events. He was subjected to coercion from between 10 and 12 officers; he also received severe blows, administered with wet cloths, to his stomach and to his head. He also received open-handed slaps on to his face and was kicked in the testicles; the police officers took turns to hit him, and they forced him to sign and place his thumbprint on an incriminating statement. In the statement that he gave under coercion, Alfonso Martín del Campo Dodd admitted having killed both his sister and his brother-in-law, and he also stated that he tried to fake a kidnapping to conceal his guilt. 2 7.Mr. Martín del Campo was tried and sentenced to a 50-year prison term for killing both his sister and his brother-in-law. The petitioners claim that the trial openly violated due process, essentially because the sole evidence upon which his conviction was based was the statement he was coerced into giving under torture and because he did not receive assistance from an attorney or other person of his confidence. The internal investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General for Justice of the Federal District (PGJDF), launched at the request of Mr. Martín del Campo’s family, determined in October 1994 that Police Officer Sotero Galván Gutiérrez had incurred in administrative responsibility for the following: Having arbitrarily detained him and having beaten him, thus failing to safeguard the legality and honesty he is required to observe; carrying out actions that constituted an abuse of his position or the undue exercise thereof, for failing to comport himself correctly in his job, for having violated other legal provisions related to public service, including the Operations Manual of the Judicial Police; because he failed to respect the principles of legality and constitutionality with respect to the complainant; because he did not refrain from the use of force and did not safeguard the basic rights [of Mr. Martín del Campo]. 3 8.The petitioners report that the alleged victim’s defense counsel pursued numerous remedies provided by domestic law: criminal action for torture on May 11, 1995; proceedings 57/92 before Criminal Court 55, against Alfonso Martín del Campo Dodd; appeal filed with the Eighth Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District; amparo relief proceedings before the Eighth Chamber of the Federal District’s Fourth Collegiate Criminal Court; and, finally, a recognition of innocence remedy, which was declared inadmissible by the Superior Court of Justice of the Federal District on April 6, 1999. They also pursued non legal remedies: namely, they lodged complaints with the PGJDF’s Internal Controller, with the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), and with the Human Rights Commission of the Federal District (CDHDF). The petitioners believe that the evidence submitted to all these instances was sufficiently conclusive to resolve Alfonso Martín del Campo Dodd’s situation; however, none of these proceedings succeeded in remedying the injustice set forth in the complaint. Consequently, they maintain that the admissibility requirements contained in Articles 46 and 47 of the American Convention have been met. 2Petitioners’ submission, October 27, 1999, pp. 3-4. 3Decision of the Internal Controller of the PGJDF of October 14, 1994, PGJDF File QC/011/FEB-94, quoted in the petitioners’ submission of October 27, 1999, paragraph 9, p. 4. 2