41 and iii) the expert opinions of the domestic proceeding and before the Court that analyzed if torture was committed in the instant case. Secondly, it shall analyze the compliance with the obligation to investigate such facts and lastly, it shall determine the legal classification of the facts of the instant case. 1. Proven Facts 1.1 Statements made by the alleged victims 111. During the course of the domestic criminal proceedings, before the InterAmerican Commission and the Court, Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel rendered statements about the alleged acts of torture committed against them. The statements were the following: i) before the Agent of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Arcelia, Guerrero;142 ii) before the Agent of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Coyuca de Catalán, Guerrero;143 iii) preliminary statement before the first instance Court in Mina, Guerrero;144 iv) first expansion of the preliminary statement before the Fifth District Court;145 v) second expansion of the preliminary statement before the Fifth District Court,146 and vi) the statements before the Inter-American 142 Cf. Statements of Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel before the Public Prosecutor's Office of Arcelia of May 4, 1999 (Preliminary Inquiry 33/CC/999) (record of annexes to the application, volume XI, folios 4232 to 4236). 143 On May 6, 1999, in the statement rendered before the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Coyuca de Catalán, Mr. Cabrera declared that: “when he was detained at the military [b]ase, he was hit in the abdomen, without knowing who struck [him], but [that] he would recognize him if he were shown a photograph.” For his part, Mr. Montiel Flores indicated that: “when he was at the river, he wasn’t [subjected to beatings or abuse], but at the army base, he received a blow to the pit of the stomach and a slap on the left cheek.” Cf. Statements of Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel of May 6, 1999, supra note 132, folios 9781 and 9785. 144 On May 7, 1999 Mr. Cabrera García stated that: “when [he] was at the 40th Battalion, a drunken friend of the soldiers arrived and they began to beat [him] up, causing [him] to fall over, that they were making [him] kneel, with [his] hands tied behind [his] back, and that [his] feet were also bound, adding that in Pizotla they blindfolded [him] and [he] heard that they wanted to cut off [his] testicles; and they opened [his] mouth and put a pistol inside.” For his part, Mr. Montiel Flores indicated that: “during the night when [he] was in the soldiers’ custody, they stepped on [his] face and put the rifle muzzle to [his] forehead, and a soldier said to [him] ‘if something happens to me dude, I’m going to unload the rifle in you;’ that [he] was tied up for a while, like TEODORO[,].” Moreover, he indicated “that on Monday night, the soldiers told [them] to lie down and to place [their] heads where the sun rises; later, they woke [them] up and told [them] to lie down where the sun sets; shortly thereafter, they got [them] up again and laid [them] down forming a cross; still later they came for them and took them to the mountain, and [he] saw that there were other armed men with their faces covered […] telling [him] ‘that he should not play the fool, that they knew his family’s location and another one pulled [his] testicles, saying that they would cut them off if he didn’t say what he knew, and [he] said to them that [he] would say whatever they said, if they would just stop beating him Cf. Preliminary Statements of Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel before the First Instance Court of the Judicial District of Mina of May 7, 1999 (case file 03/999) (record of annexes to the answer to the application, volume XXIII, folios 9836, 9837 and 9841). 145 On July 13, 1999, during the expansion of his preliminary statement, Mr. Cabrera García declared that: “in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, they put a pistol to [his] head, [telling him] that if he did not sign, [they were going to] blow it off […] and that’s why he signed.” For his part, Mr. Montiel Flores indicated that: “the soldiers put a rifle to [his] head and also put a foot on [his] head,[…] and told [him] that if anything happened to them, he would blow [his] head off.” Likewise, “on Monday May [3], [he was given] something to eat and [he] wanted to wash [his] hands and one of the soldiers got angry and told [him] that he was going to smash [their] head in with a stone and they [took] them to [Court and to the Public Prosecutor’s Office].” He also indicated that “at some point, through torture, [they] made [him] sign or agree that the pistol and marijuana [were his],” warning him “that if he did not agree, they knew who [his] family was, and for fear that they would hit [his] family, […] [he] had to remain silent.” Cf. Expansion of the Preliminary Statements of Messrs. Cabrera and Montiel before the First Instance Criminal Court of the Judicial District of Mina of July 13, 1999 (case file 61/99) (record of annexes to the answer to the application, volume XXIII, folios 10037, 10039 and 10040). 146 On December 23, 1999, Mr. Cabrera García stated that: “as they were pulling on his testicles, he felt sick, since [they] were getting dry, and he had blood in his urine from the beatings they gave him.”.” Likewise, he emphasized that “four soldiers pulled on his testicles..” Additionally, he indicated that: “they took them to the bank of the Pizotla River and kept them tied there with hands and feet