she direct her efforts towards the respective civil authorities.” 88 Meanwhile, that same month, Mrs. Montenegro denounced the facts before the then Head of State, who informed her that he had “given instructions in order to expedite [the] investigations to clarify the whereabouts of her husband.” She also filed another application for habeas corpus and the respective court sent a telegram requesting information from the DIT, which responded that Edgar Fernando García had not been detained by that department. 89 72. In addition, in answer to a request for information from the General Inspectorate of the National Police, in the Historical Archive of the National Police it was found that the Commander of the Fourth Unit had responded that “[t]his unit did not conduct any search operation on [3rd Avenue and 7th Street Zone 11, on February 18, 1984], nor has Edgar Fernando García been detained in this unit.” However, another record found in the Historical Archive of the National Police indicated that a cleansing operation had been conducted on that date “with nothing to report.” 90 In August that year and in 1985, the court in charge of the applications for habeas corpus continued to request information from the different authorities, without success. 91 73. In addition, Mrs. Montenegro assured that she “went to prisons, cemeteries, saw corpses, went to morgues, to the firefighters, to hospitals and even insane asylums because they told [her] at that time that this could be possible.” She also said that, once, she went to the “turrets of the National Palace” where a man, “who had something on his head that covered his shoulders,” told her that “[they] never kidnap[ped] a person; [they] monitored the public; but, [they did not] kidnap subversives and communists. So, why would [she] think that [they] would kidnap [her] husband, an honorable and honest person?” 92 74. In 1988, Mrs. Montenegro filed a complaint with the PDH. In 1997, the representative of the Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo filed three applications for habeas corpus in 88 Cf. Note No. SZ-0371 of July 6, 1984, addressed by the National Defense General Staff to Nineth Montenegro de García and María del Rosario Godoy de Cuevas (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome II, annex 31, folio 480). Similarly, see, Note No. SZ-0487 of August 31, 1984, addressed by the National Defense General Staff to Nineth Montenegro de García (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome II, annex 31, folio 483). 89 Cf. Telegram of the Head of State of July 17, 1984 (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome II, annex 36, folio 744); AHPN. Application for habeas corpus of July 18, 1984. GT PN 50 S005, Nos. 16597 and 16598, (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome II, annex A, folios 2381 a 2382). AHPN Telegram of the First Instance Criminal Judge of July 6, 1984, GT PN 50 S005, No. 16454, and Note No. 16572 of the Technical Investigations Department of the National Police of July 7, 1984, GT PN 50 S005, No. 16443 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome I, annexes 36 and 37, folios 1425 and 1427). The following year at least one more application for habeas corpus was filed. Cf. AHPN. Application for habeas corpus of December 6, 1985, GT PN 50 S004, No. 15360 and No. 15632 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome II, annex A, folios 2445 and 2484). 90 Cf. Documents handed over during the public hearing by Velia Muralles Bautista, AHPN. Decision No. 2701-IG-Jaa of the General Inspectorate of the National Police of June 14, 1984 (merits file, tome II, folio 869); Decision No. 0230 of the Commander of the Fourth Unit of the National Police of June 18, 1984, GT PN 26-01 S001, No. 16748 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome I, annex 34, folio 1421), and AHPN. Log for February 18, 1984, GT PN 26-02 S002, No. 25374 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome I, annex 30, folio 1413). 91 Cf., inter alia, AHPN. Note of the Technical Investigations Department of the National Police of August 10, 1985, GT PN 50 S005, No. 16439, and Note No. 9722 of the Technical Investigations Department of the National Police of December 7, 1985. GT PN 50 S005, No. 13683 (file of annexes to the motions and arguments brief, tome II, folios 2260 and 2312), also Note No. 5022 of the General Directorate of the National Police of August 29,1984 (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome II, annex 38, folio 748). 92 Cf. Testimony given by Nineth Varenca Montenegro Cottom before the Inter-American Court during the public hearing in this case, and complaint filed by Nineth Varenca Montenegro Cottom before the PDH on January 22, 1988 (file of annexes to the Merits Report, tome I, annex 16, folio 211). See, also, affidavit prepared by Alejandra García Montenegro on April 20, 2012 (merits file, tome II, folios 803). 26