criminal court nor does it hold to the same standards of evidence as criminal proceedings (supra paras. 280 and 282). A) Eyewitness evidence 295. The view of the Commission and the representatives is based primarily on the eyewitness statements of (a) Hidetaka Ogura, then first secretary of the Japanese embassy in Lima and former hostage; (b) Raúl Robles Reynoso, an officer of the National Police of Peru who guarded house No. 1; (c) Marcial Teodorico Torres Arteaga, an officer of the National Police of Peru who guarded house No. 1; and (d) hearsay testimony from former hostage Máximo Félix Rivera Díaz, then director of the National Counterterrorism Directorate (DINCOTE). 296. It is important, first of all, to examine statements by witnesses who saw Eduardo Nicolás Cruz Sánchez leaving the residence hidden among the hostages, who had reported him. The police officers in charge of security in the sector where the group was being evacuated had then captured him, bound his hands, placed him on the ground, and after they had notified their commanding officer, a soldier had arrived and taken him back inside the ambassador’s residence. 297. Former hostage Hidetaka Ogura, who was evacuated from the room tagged “I” on the second floor of the residence, explained the situation in a letter sent to the Peruvian courts on August 20, 2001, as follows: When we went down to the ground floor, we waited a few minutes together with the ten men […] beside the residence building to go out to the neighboring house. […] A soldier led us through a short tunnel into the yard of the neighboring house. […] I saw a member of the MRTA in that yard, called ‘Tito’. His hands were bound behind his back, and his body was lying face-down on the ground. He was moving, so I could tell he was alive. […] When ‘Tito’ tried to raise his head, an armed policeman who was guarding him kicked his head, and he began to bleed. I know it was a police officer because the police were guarding the house next door. A few minutes later, a soldier came out of the tunnel, made ‘Tito’ get up, and took him into the residence through the tunnel. So ‘Tito’ left the yard, and I have not seen the person ‘Tito’ since then.377 298. The State has repeatedly challenged this witness, claiming that he is not objective and that he had developed a friendship with the MRTA guerrillas during his time of captivity. The Court would note that Mr. Ogura reiterated his version of the facts before the Peruvian courts,378 the Inter-American Commission,379 and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.380 The Court would further emphasize that the record contains other independent, unrelated evidence corroborating his description of the facts. 299. Police officer Raúl Robles Reynoso, in a statement before the Specialized Provincial Prosecutor, said: Letter from Hidetaka Ogura to the judiciary of Peru, August 20, 2001 (evidence file, volume I, annex 5 to the case submission brief, folios 112 to 113). 377 Cf. Statement by Hidetaka Ogura before the Third Special Criminal Chamber, proceedings of session 68, April 23, 2012 (evidence file, volume XV, annex 17 to the State’s answering brief, folios 10300 to 10330). 378 Cf. Testimony rendered by Hidetaka Ogura to the Inter-American Commission in a public hearing on February 28, 2005 (evidence file, volume II, annex 46 to the case submission brief, folio 1326). 379 Cf. Sworn statement by Hidetaka Ogura taken and certified by a public attestor on January 28, 2014 (evidence file, volume XXX, affidavits, folios 20620 to 20624). 380