15 been tortured and even showed him photographs of the torturing. Ricardo felt Wilson had done the right thing in reporting he had been tortured. The witness stated that ever since his brother Wilson left prison, both of them and his family have been harassed and received increasingly serious telephone threats, repeating the Spanish saying “kill the dog and it will be the end of rabies.” Ricardo and Wilson realized things were not right when they learned from the police that some vehicles that had been prowling around the make reparations shop, which supposedly belonged to private individuals, actually belonged to the “Dirección Central de Policía Judicial” (Central Bureau of the Judicial Police). The witness pointed out that, as part of the harassment, he and his brother Wilson were accused of “stealing vehicles” and imprisoned. Their parents were planted a bomb, and one of their children suffered a kidnapping attempt. In addition, the witness received a bomb-book and “suffered several attacks.” The witness, together with his brother Wilson, has filed complaints reporting the harassment, the searches and the telephone threats they have suffered. However, these complaints went unsuccessful. The lack of response from the courts has further undermined the witness’ safety. Moreover, the precautionary measures ordered by the Inter-American Commission have not been enforced. The witness finds that having to ask the Colombian State for protective measures has been cumbersome: “to me it’s embarrassing to have to turn to people I don’t know […]. But to be honest, it has been useless for me; I have been abandoned.” On one occasion, the State gave him money to leave town; however, he received none of the assistance for his little daughter he had been offered. The witness never told his own family of the events that had befallen his brother Wilson, since he felt sorry for them. As he did not know the truth, his father started saying that Wilson and himself were involved in illegal situations. He feels very sad about the fact that his father died without knowing the truth. The witness neglected his family and abandoned his oldest children because of his attempts to do something with his brother Wilson about the problem. The harassments, the searches and other events affected the witness and his family’s economic and personal situation. Firstly, his brother Wilson, who managed their business accounts “was so unfortunate as to be imprisoned,” which was a hard blow for the family. His parents assisted them as much as they were able, and in the end, two or three years ago, they preferred to sell their house and leave Bogotá. Secondly, the witness’ children did not complete their studies and he was not able to provide for them at all. Finally, as a result of all this, the witness has not been able to have a permanent residence where he can stay with his family, nor has he been able to work steadily. The shops he successively set up did not last more than two months. The witness pointed out that, even though he fears for his safety for having appeared to the Court, he testified because he thinks what happened is not fair: “because it’s not fair that my youngest daughter [she can not speak],