36 in the facts of the case104. The foregoing requires not only hierarchical or institutional independence, but also real independence. 123. The said investigation must be carried out with all available legal means and must be directed towards the determination of the truth and the investigation, pursuit, capture, prosecution and possible punishment of all the masterminds and perpetrators of the facts, particularly when State agents are or may be involved105. 124. The Court has held that by implementing or tolerating actions aimed at carrying out extrajudicial executions, failing to investigate them adequately and, when applicable, failing to effectively punish those responsible parties, the State violates its obligations to respect and ensure the rights of the alleged victims and their family members enshrined in the Convention, prevents society from knowing the truth about the events and reproduces the conditions of impunity for this type of acts to be repeated106. 125. Moreover, in the two preceding chapters the existence of rules which prevented an adequate control of the state of emergency and of the legitimacy of the use of force and of the operation in question, through an independent and impartial investigation, was established (supra paras. 53-68 and 94). It is reasonable to suppose that the legislation on which the suspension of guarantees and the operation in question were grounded was one of the reasons – although not a justification – for which an investigation had not been initiated in the ordinary criminal jurisdiction. As such, those judicial guarantees in effect ended up to be suspended. 126. Furthermore, the time elapsed since the facts of the instant case excessively exceeds the period of time which could be considered reasonable for the State to carry out the corresponding investigation proceedings, all the more since to the time already elapsed should be added the time necessary for initiating and carrying out the criminal proceeding, with the various stages that such proceeding involves, until the final decision. This lack of investigation for such a long time constitutes a blatant denial of justice and a violation of the right to access to justice of the family members of the victims. 127. As such, the State mentioned that “it demonstrates its interest to protect such rights, considering that the President has created [107…] ‘The Truth Commission’, in charge of investigating, clarifying and preventing impunity with regard to the violent facts which took place between 1984 and 1988 and in other periods, and which constituted violations of human rights; and that as such, the State will thoroughly investigate and collect all the documentary, expert and testimonial evidence necessary to initiate [criminal proceedings] at the domestic level, with respect to the due judicial guarantees”. The State also expressed that “the deaths […that occurred in] this case must be clarified, as they will surely be through the Truth Commission and consequently, the domestic justice. Ecuador assumes the responsibility to investigate and punish the perpetrators once the truth will have been established on what happened on the day of the events[; as such, 104 Cf. Case of Durand and Ugarte, supra note 35, paras. 125-126; Case of Montero Aranguren et al. (Detention center of Catia), supra note 31, para. 81. Similarly, see also ECHR, Nachova and Others v. Bulgaria [GC], supra note 75, para. 112; ECHR, Isayeva v. Russia, supra note 76, para. 211, and ECHR, Kelly and Others v. the United Kingdom, no. 30054/96, para. 95, 4 May 2001. Cf. Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 61, para. 143. See also Case of the Rochela Massacre, supra note 7, para. 148, and Case of the Miguel Castro-Castro Prison, supra note 14, para. 256. 105 106 Cf. Case of Myrna Mack Chang, supra note 7, para. 156. See also Case of the Rochela Massacre, supra note 7, para. 148, and Case of the Pueblo Bello Massacre, supra note 61, para. 146. 107 By means of an Executive Decree, published in the Official Registry No. 87 of Friday May 18, 2007, according to information presented by the State.