36 it bore signs of violence and other abuses, so that the State’s failure to prevent had consequences for María Isabel Véliz Franco’s personal integrity. Once the mother reported her missing, the State’s failure to respond left the alleged victim defenseless. 161. Time and time again the Inter-American Court has held that the next of kin of the victims of human rights violations may also be victims by virtue of the additional suffering they have endured as a result of the human rights violations done to their loved ones and by virtue of the subsequent actions or 193 omissions of the State authorities with regard to the events. Following this line of jurisprudence, the Court has found that the next of kin’s right to mental and moral integrity, protected under Article 5(1) of 194 the American Convention, was violated. In the present case, the irregularities and delays on the part of the Guatemalan State in the investigation into the disappearance of María Isabel Véliz Franco and her subsequent murder caused her next of kin profound suffering and anguish, and that despite the seriousness of the crimes, nine years have passed since the body of the murder victim was found and yet those responsible have not been punished. 162. The Commission also observes what little importance State officials attached to the concerns and suffering of the mother of María Isabel Véliz Franco, Rosa Elvira Franco, and how insensitive they were when she tried to move the investigations forward. The case file contains the statement that the Deputy Prosecutor in the Public Prosecutor’s Office made, in which she reported to the Deputy Public Secretary of the Public Prosecutor’s Office that they had expressly ordered her not to pursue the investigations because that was not her job: Mindful of the instruction that the Prosecutor gave to me [not to pursue the investigation], I disregarded the order from the District Attorney and, knowing that the investigation could not be stopped, I opted instead to contact the District Attorney [...] to tell him what the Prosecutor wanted to do, and that it was not right that the mother of Maria Isabel Véliz Franco did not get an answer at 195 Unit 32, and now we have her coming back and forth […] 163. From the foregoing, the Commission concludes that the State of Guatemala violated Article 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights to the detriment of María Isabel Véliz Franco, in relation to the general obligation to respect and ensure the Convention-protected rights, set forth in Article 1(1) of that instrument. It also violated Article 5(1) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) thereof, to the detriment of her next of kin: Rosa Elvira Franco Sandoval de Véliz (mother), Leonel Enrique Véliz Franco (brother), José Roberto Franco (brother), Cruz Elvira Sandoval Polanco de Franco 196 197 (grandmother, deceased ) and Roberto Franco Pérez (grandfather, deceased ). F. Violation of Article 11 of the American Convention 193 I/A Court H.R., Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre. Judgment of January 31, 2006. Series C No. 140, paragraph 154; I/A Court H.R., Case of Gómez Palomino. Judgment of November 22, 2005. Series C No. 136, paragraph 60; I/A Court H.R., Case of the Mapiripán Massacre. Judgment of September 15, 2005. Series C No. 134, paragraphs 144-146; I/A Court H.R., Case of the Serrano Cruz Sisters. Judgment of March 1, 2005. Series C No. 120, paragraphs 113-114; I/A Court H.R., Case of the 19 Tradesmen. Judgment of July 5, 2004. Series C No. 109, paragraph 210. 194 I/A Court H.R., Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre. Judgment of January 31, 2006. Series C No. 140, paragraph 154; I/A Court H.R., Case of Gómez Palomino. Judgment of November 22, 2005. Series C No. 136, paragraph 60; I/A Court H.R., Case of the Mapiripán Massacre. Judgment of September 15, 2005. Series C No. 134, paragraphs 144-146; I/A Court H.R., Case of the Serrano Cruz Sisters. Judgment of March 1, 2005. Series C No. 120, paragraphs 113-114; I/A Court H.R., Case of the 19 Tradesmen. Judgment of July 5, 2004. Series C No. 109, paragraph 210. 195 Annex 19. Memorandum dated September 16, 2002, from Edgar Romero Arana, Deputy Prosecutor in Unit 5 of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, addressed to Rubén Eliu Higueros Girón, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Document supplied by the petitioners on April 25, 2007. 196 According to the petitioners, Mrs. Cruz Elvira Sandoval Polanco de Franco died in April 2011. 197 According to the petitioners, Mr. Roberto Franco Pérez died in 2004.