39 154. In its final arguments, the State did not refer to the issue (supra, paras. 67 and 68). 155. Article 5 of the American Convention stipulates that 1. Every person has the right to have his physical, mental, and moral integrity respected. 2. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. […] 156. The Court considers that the violation of this Article should be examined from two angles. First, whether or not Article 5.1 and 5.2 have been violated to the detriment of the youths Contreras, Figueroa Túnchez, Juárez Cifuentes and Caal Sandoval should be analyzed. Second, the Court should evaluate whether the families of the victims were, themselves, subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. 157. In the instant case, there is considerable, concurring evidence that the physical integrity of these four youths was violated and that, before they died, they were victims of serious ill-treatment and physical and psychological torture by the State agents and, more specifically, members of the National Police Force. 158. The bodies of the youths were found dead with signs of serious physical violence that the State has been unable to explain. The file contains photographs of the faces and necks of the bodies of the youths. Different injuries are very visible in these photographs, including those made by the bullets that were the cause of death and other signs of physical violence. The four autopsies mention the approximate location of the shot wounds and, in two case, refer to other injuries that can be clearly seen in the photographs, or are located in other parts of the bodies, attributing them generically to “animal bites”. The size of the wounds is not specified or their depth, the type of animal that could have produced them, or whether they occurred before or after death. The autopsies of the other two youths provide no explanation of the injuries to their bodies. 159. An Amnesty International report, included with the file (supra, para. 59.c), which was not contested by the State, mentions that the bodies presented signs of torture: the ears and tongues had been cut off, and the eyes had been burned or extracted. Furthermore, it appears that some kind of burning liquid had been thrown on the chest and chin of [Caal Sandoval]. According to the Prosecutor-General’s office, the mutilations to which the four had been subjected correspond to the treatment that the police usually use on those who inform against this security force. The mutilation of the ears, eyes and tongue signifies that the person had heard or seen or spoken of something inadvisable. 160. One of the expert witnesses who appeared before this Court (supra, para. 66.a) observed that there were no photographs of the whole body of any of the four victims. Regarding the injuries to the eyes, the expert witness stated that, based on what could be seen in the photographs, in all cases they were produced by the shots received in the head; and, about the tongue of Clemente Figueroa Túnchez, the only

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