110 various types of suffering among the members of his family: wife, father, and sisters of the victim. 62. As was proven, Mr. Bámaca Velásquez suffered, among the actions carried out by the armed forces with respect to guerrilla fighters who were captured, hostile and restrictive detainment conditions used to obtain information;63 he was tortured and subject to various cruel, inhuman, and degrading forms of treatment.64 It is obvious, as it is part of human nature, that any person suffering torture, aggression, and maltreatment,65 as Bámaca Velásquez did, will feel bodily pain and deep suffering. In this regard, paragraph 158 of the November 25, 2000 judgment of the Court on the merits, stated: the acts denounced in the present case were deliberately prepared and inflicted, in order to obtain information that was relevant for the Army from Efraín Bámaca Velásquez. According to the testimonies received in this proceeding, the alleged victim was submitted to grave acts of physical and mental violence during a prolonged period of time for the said purpose and, thus, intentionally placed in a situation of anguish and intense physical suffering, which can only be qualified as both physical and mental torture. 63. These sufferings extend equally to the closest members of the family, especially those who had close emotional contact with the victim. The Court deems that evidence is not required to reach this conclusion,66 even though in the instant case the suffering caused to them has been proven. 64. Impunity prevailing in this case has also caused and continues to cause suffering among the next of kin, making them feel vulnerable and in a constant state of defenselessness vis-à-vis the State, a situation that causes deep anguish. In this regard, in the judgment on the merits of the instant case, the Court referred to: the total lack of investigation, prosecution, capture, trial and conviction of those responsible for violations of the rights protected by the American Convention, in view of the fact that the State has the obligation to use all the legal means at its disposal to combat that situation, since impunity fosters chronic recidivism of human right violations, and total defenselessness of victims and their relative.67 65. In light of the above, the considerations of the Court regarding the next of kin of Mr. Bámaca Velásquez are as follows: a) as regards Mrs. Harbury, this Court pointed out that the State continuously obstructed her efforts to determine the truth about the events and about the hiding of her husband’s body and, also, that the 63 Bámaca Velásquez Case, supra note 6, para. 132. 64 Bámaca Velásquez Case, supra note 6, para. 150-151 and 158. 65 Bámaca Velásquez Case, supra note 6, para. 220. 66 See Paniagua Morales et al. Case, Reparations, supra note 5, para. 106, 124, 142, 157 and 173. 67 Bámaca Velásquez Case, supra note 6, para. 211; and Paniagua Morales et al. Case, supra note 5, para. 173.