A/HRC/44/54 between the victim and security forces. Relatives also reported that the burden of proof was frequently placed on them to demonstrate that the victim was not a criminal. Most were unable to afford the costs of the required court documentation. 23. Relatives of victims also reported various forms of intimidation, threats and reprisals by members of security forces to stop them from seeking justice. In the most serious cases, this led to forced and prolonged displacement of family members or even, in some instances, their killing. 24. OHCHR identified challenges in guaranteeing adequate diligence in response to claims of victims. Interviewees reported that staff working in the justice system are either unable to process their claims and to follow up on cases – owing to a lack of training or infrastructure – or they are reluctant to do so. Authorities sometimes discouraged them from denouncing human rights violations, admitting powerlessness in investigating such cases, or acknowledging they had received orders from superiors to not investigate, especially in relation to alleged violations committed by security forces. Interviewees reported that the main reasons for not approaching authorities include fear of revictimization and lack of trust in the justice system. 25. OHCHR documented that, in serious cases of alleged enforced disappearances, courts often failed to act with due diligence. For example, it received information concerning the alleged enforced disappearances of Lieutenant Colonel Juan Antonio Hurtado Campos, in September 2018, and of Hugo Enrique Marino Salas – a civilian who had worked as a contractor with the military – in April 2019. Their relatives have not received responses to the habeas corpus requests filed in July 2019 and May 2019 respectively, and their whereabouts remain unknown. 26. Sources informed OHCHR that when torture or ill-treatment were reported to judges during hearings, they usually responded that it was not within their competence to address such allegations, despite the obligation to investigate any torture allegations as required by both the national law of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and its international obligations. In the few cases where the request to investigate was granted, no medical examination was carried out and no inquiries were initiated. 27. OHCHR documented 16 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment committed from 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020. The actual number of cases could be significantly higher, in view of patterns of brief enforced disappearances and incommunicado and arbitrary detention, which usually heighten the risk of torture and ill-treatment.27 OHCHR received credible accounts that persons deprived of their liberty by the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence had been subjected to sessions of one or more forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment that could amount to torture. Documented cases included severe beatings with boards, suffocation with plastic bags and chemicals, submerging the head of the victim under water, electric shocks to the eyelids and sexual violence in the form of electric shocks to genitalia. Detainees were also exposed to cold temperatures and/or constant electric light, handcuffed and/or blindfolded for long periods of time, and subjected to death threats against themselves and their relatives. Victims of torture suffered from psychological effects such as depression, insomnia, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation. Common physical consequences were chronic pain, loss of sensation in extremities, renal conditions, hypertension, injury to eyes and loss of vision. OHCHR received reports that in some cases, doctors issued false or inaccurate medical certificates not disclosing the signs of torture. 28. A documented instance of torture is the case of retired Captain Rafael Acosta Arévalo, who died in custody on 29 June 2019. Reports of his autopsy revealed that he had suffered multiple blows. He had bruises, wounds and burns on various parts of his body, 15 broken ribs, and fractures to his nose and right foot. Two agents of the Directorate General of Military Counter-intelligence were detained and accused of second-degree murder in that case, but not of committing acts of torture. In September 2019, they were sentenced to six years’ imprisonment after acknowledging responsibility, benefiting from a one-third reduction in punishment. 27 6 A/HRC/44/20, paras. 46 and 49.