6 18. In addition to the above arguments which the petitioners made with respect to all the alleged victims, they also introduced arguments on the specific conditions of each individual alleged victim. The Commission will summarize those arguments below. 19. In the case of César Alberto Mendoza, the petitioners contend that he was prevented from filing a complaint motion with the Supreme Court of Argentina because he was not personally notified that his special federal appeal had been denied. They point out that notification was sent to the penitentiary in which he was incarcerated; however, there is no record that Mr. Mendoza himself was notified; his court-appointed attorney was notified, but failed to bring the matter to the alleged victim’s attention and unilaterally decided not to pursue further appeals. The petitioners state that some months later, the alleged victim sent a letter to the Office of the Supreme Court’s Court-appointed Attorney Services expressing his desire to be informed of the status of the proceedings; only then did he learn that his conviction and sentence had been upheld and had thus become final. 20. The petitioners assert that it was not until late April 2002 that Claudio David Núñez and Lucas Matías Mendoza learned of the final ruling in their case; the only parties to be notified had been their respective defense attorneys, who failed to bring the decision to the attention of the alleged victims. 21. The petitioners state further that when Lucas Matías Mendoza was incarcerated at the 6 Instituto Dr. Luis Agote a blow to his left eye left him with a detached retina. The injury was not immediately treated, with the result that he lost his vision in that eye. The petitioners point out that before being taken into custody, Lucas Matías Mendoza was already suffering from progressive toxoplasmosis in the right eye, which meant that after the injury sustained during his stay at the Instituto Dr. Luis Agote, he would end up blind in both eyes. The petitioners contend that the State’s failure to provide immediate medical care when the injury to the alleged victim’s left eye was sustained did irreversible damage to his physical health and wellbeing. They add that it was not until mid 2003, approximately five years after he entered the Federal Penitentiary System that Lucas Matías Mendoza allegedly began to be taught how to read in Braille. 22. While the petitioners’ request seeking precautionary measures was in process, they reported that on December 9, 2007, Lucas Matías Mendoza and Claudio David Núñez were beaten up by staff of the Federal Penitentiary Service, who entered their cell and, after beating them and putting them in handcuffs, led them to a cell referred to in prison slang as “the lion’s den”. There, Lucas and Claudio allegedly sustained between 20 and 30 blows to the soles of their feet and on other parts of the body, including the back, the waist and the head. The petitioners recount that after the beating had ended, both men were taken to another sector where they were ordered to stand up and walk, which they were naturally unable to do because of the pain, whereupon Lucas was reportedly thrown to the floor and beaten again on the soles of his feet. 23. According to the petitioners, the Federal Penitentiary System argued that this was a fight among inmates. The petitioners also report that on December 26, a complaint was filed in connection with these events, which was heard by Lomas de Zamora Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 2. The court had allegedly closed the investigations into the complaint on February 29 and July 2, 2008; no serious and rigorous investigations of the complaint were conducted. 24. The petitioners state that it was not until June 18, 2003 that Saúl Cristián Roldán Cajal learned of the decision on the cassation motion, by which time it was too late for him to file another appeal or motion with the domestic courts. 25. The petitioners allege that during his incarceration in the Mendoza prison institutions, young Roldán suffered severe injuries. They observe that in March 2000, during a prison riot, prison personnel or members of the Infantry Guard Corps (CGI) fractured his upper jaw, broke his teeth and 6 A youth detention facility under the authority of the National Secretariat for Children and Adolescents.