Mexico
31.07.01
Urgent Interventions
Mexico: illegal arrest and reported torture of Mr Andrés Cano Martínez by police
Case MEX 310701
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Mexico :
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed of the apparently illegal arrest and reported torture and ill-treatment of Mr Andrés Cano Martínez, in Villa Isla Veracruz, Miguel Bautista Alonso and his young son Manuel Bautista Ubaldo in Sochiapa; these alleged acts were carried out by police officers employed in crime-prevention in the department of the Public Prosecutor (Procuraduría General de Justicia) of the state of Veracruz.
According to information received from the Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (LIMEDHH), on 12 July 2001 at about 1.00pm, a number of prevention officers of the State of Veracruz detained, without producing the relevant arrest warrant, Mr Miguel Bautista Alonso, director of the indigenous movement “Pro Municipio Libre de Santiago Sochiapa”, and his young son, Manuel Bautista Ubaldo. They were arrested on the Sochiapa section of the Tuxtepec-Matías Romero Federal Highway on the Veracruz and Oaxaca State Limits. There are reports that both were the victims of beatings and death threats.
In a related incident, on 13 July 2001, in Villa Isla Veracruz, Mr Andrés Cano Martínez, the first autonomous mayor of Santiago Sochiapa, was reportedly detained by Public Security police, again without a valid arrest warrant. Mr Bautista Alonso and Mr Cano Martínez were taken to the San Carlos Perote Regional Detention Centre in Veracruz, together with two other activists in the Sochiapa movement, Mr Juan Alberto Hernández Godinez and Mr Marcos Cardoza. The San Carlos Perote Detention Centre is a prison for sentenced offenders, and as such should not be used to hold unconvicted detainees. Furthermore, the above men are assigned to the Cosamaloapan Judicial District, at a great distance from their homes, thus undermining their access to legal advice and adequate defence.
The outcome of the hearing of 20 July 2001 before the first instance judge of the judicial district of Cosamaloapán was a prison term for each of the above-mentioned men. The sentencing judge, Benito Vergara Morales of the Mixed First Instance Court of Jalacingo, did not accord bail. The men, all members of indigenous communities, were charged by the State Public Prosecutor with usurping official functions, illegal restriction of the officials’ liberty of civil servants and aggression against authority ( penal offences 88/2000 64/2001).
LIMEDHH also reports that Manuel Bautista Ubaldo, who is under 18 years of age, was kept for 8 days in the youth offenders’ prison (Centro Tutelar para Menores) in Vanderilla, released because there had been no valid arrest warrant issued against him.
There are also reports that 39 arrest orders have been issued against the same numebr of people, also involved in the Pro Municipio Libre de Santiago Sochiapa movement. According to LIMMEDHH, on 19 July 2001, a number of patrols of the Dirección General de Seguridad Pública (DGSP) attempted to enter Sochiapa, and the following day proceeded to install ten checkpoints on the highways and country roads leading to the community and to increase the number of patrols in the region.
Background Information
According to the reports received, the above events have a political nature. Since 1995, some 67 indigenous communities, comprising zapotecos, mixes, chinantecos, nahuas and popolucas presented their request to be separated from the municipality of Santiago de Sochiapa de Playa Vicente, claiming that the region’s authorities subjected them to ill treatment and injustice. During 4 years the communities followed the necessary procedures set out in the Ley Orgánica del Municipio Libre del Estado, thus fulfilling the legal requirements of establishing a territory, which include, for example, a recognised authority and a population of more than 25,000.
On 3 January 2001, the 37 thousand inhabitants of the 67 communities established the Assembly of Sochiapa and inaugurated the office of its first mayor, thus arousing strong opposition from the powers in Playa Vicente.
On 21 March 2001, representatives of the municipality met with the Executive, Judiciary and the Assembly of the State in order to reach a compromise between the two parties. The members of the Sociapa Municipality agreed to dissolve the newly created Mayor’s office, creating in its place a Municipal Committee (Comité Pro Municipio de Sochiapa), whilst the Government pledged to create the legal conditions necessary to begin the process that would finally bring the municipal decree into being ; the judicial authorities undertook to make every effort to ensure the respect of non-aggression between the populations of Playa Vicente and of Sochiapa, and the government agreed to respect the elected authorities of Sochiapa, and to confer them powers in the domains of security, management and administration, as well as in local social and cultural projects.
Despite these agreements, the indigenous people’s human rights continued to be violated. On 1 April 2001 at about 11.00am, municipal police agents of Playa Vicente arrived in Arroyo Colorado Cruz Verde in a truck without number plates ; when inhabitants assembled to ask the reason for their presence, the police shot against them without any explanation, then driving the truck into the group of people. The inhabitants were forced to the ground to protect themselves and no-one was injured. Following these events, the community presented a written complaint to the authorities demanding an enquiry and adequate protection against this sort of police aggression.
Limeddh also points out that serious human rights violations against the region’s inhabitants have been taking place since 1995, all of which remain unpunished. A grave example is the attack by Playa Vicente municipal police against Alicia Celiz Martínez, Francisco Lorenzo Sevilla, Carlos Bonola Méndez, Cirilo Cruz Esteban and Pablo Pérez Santiago. The long-lasting consequences of the wounds sustained during these events, particularly by Alicia Celiz Martínez, led the indigenous community to make a formal complaint in Cosamalopán, demanding an official enquiry and an appropriate penalty against the perpetrators ; the authorities have so far taken no action.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Mexican Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons and to end the harassment of the people of Sociapa;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events in order to identify those reponsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or adminstrative sanctions stipulted by law;
iii. fully execute the legal agreements allowing autonomy to indigenous communities ;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses:
· Doctor Vicente Fox Quezada, Presidente de la República Mexicana,
México Distrito Federal, Fax: (+52 5) 516 58 37, (+52 5) 515 57 29,
Email: radio@presidencia.gob.mx sprivada@presidencia.gob.mx
· Lic. Jorge Madrazo Cuellar, Procurador General de la República, Av.Reforma, esq. Violeta, Col Guerrero México DF, CP 06300 Mexico / DF México, Fax: (+52 5) 626 44 26, Email: ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
· Dr. José Luis Sobenares Fernández, Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Periféco Sur 3469, Col. San Jeronimo Lidice, CP 10200 México / Df México, Fax: (+52 5) 681 71 99, (+52 5) 681 92 39
· Emb. Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi, Embajadora Especial de Derechos Humanos y Democracia, Fax : +52 5327 30 45, Email : macosta@sre.gob.mx
· Mtro. Ricardo Sepúlveda; Director de la Unidad de Estudios Legislativos. Av. Reforma 99, Col. Tabacalera, C.P. 06030 México D.F. Fax: 0052-55-128 02 34; Tel: 0052-55-5128 0224, Email : rsepulveda@segob.gob.mx
· Misión Permanente de México ante las Naciones Unidas, Ginebra, Suiza, Fax. : (+ 41 22) 748 07 08; Email: mission.mexico@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Mexico in your country.
Geneva, July 31, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Mexico :
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed of the apparently illegal arrest and reported torture and ill-treatment of Mr Andrés Cano Martínez, in Villa Isla Veracruz, Miguel Bautista Alonso and his young son Manuel Bautista Ubaldo in Sochiapa; these alleged acts were carried out by police officers employed in crime-prevention in the department of the Public Prosecutor (Procuraduría General de Justicia) of the state of Veracruz.
According to information received from the Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (LIMEDHH), on 12 July 2001 at about 1.00pm, a number of prevention officers of the State of Veracruz detained, without producing the relevant arrest warrant, Mr Miguel Bautista Alonso, director of the indigenous movement “Pro Municipio Libre de Santiago Sochiapa”, and his young son, Manuel Bautista Ubaldo. They were arrested on the Sochiapa section of the Tuxtepec-Matías Romero Federal Highway on the Veracruz and Oaxaca State Limits. There are reports that both were the victims of beatings and death threats.
In a related incident, on 13 July 2001, in Villa Isla Veracruz, Mr Andrés Cano Martínez, the first autonomous mayor of Santiago Sochiapa, was reportedly detained by Public Security police, again without a valid arrest warrant. Mr Bautista Alonso and Mr Cano Martínez were taken to the San Carlos Perote Regional Detention Centre in Veracruz, together with two other activists in the Sochiapa movement, Mr Juan Alberto Hernández Godinez and Mr Marcos Cardoza. The San Carlos Perote Detention Centre is a prison for sentenced offenders, and as such should not be used to hold unconvicted detainees. Furthermore, the above men are assigned to the Cosamaloapan Judicial District, at a great distance from their homes, thus undermining their access to legal advice and adequate defence.
The outcome of the hearing of 20 July 2001 before the first instance judge of the judicial district of Cosamaloapán was a prison term for each of the above-mentioned men. The sentencing judge, Benito Vergara Morales of the Mixed First Instance Court of Jalacingo, did not accord bail. The men, all members of indigenous communities, were charged by the State Public Prosecutor with usurping official functions, illegal restriction of the officials’ liberty of civil servants and aggression against authority ( penal offences 88/2000 64/2001).
LIMEDHH also reports that Manuel Bautista Ubaldo, who is under 18 years of age, was kept for 8 days in the youth offenders’ prison (Centro Tutelar para Menores) in Vanderilla, released because there had been no valid arrest warrant issued against him.
There are also reports that 39 arrest orders have been issued against the same numebr of people, also involved in the Pro Municipio Libre de Santiago Sochiapa movement. According to LIMMEDHH, on 19 July 2001, a number of patrols of the Dirección General de Seguridad Pública (DGSP) attempted to enter Sochiapa, and the following day proceeded to install ten checkpoints on the highways and country roads leading to the community and to increase the number of patrols in the region.
Background Information
According to the reports received, the above events have a political nature. Since 1995, some 67 indigenous communities, comprising zapotecos, mixes, chinantecos, nahuas and popolucas presented their request to be separated from the municipality of Santiago de Sochiapa de Playa Vicente, claiming that the region’s authorities subjected them to ill treatment and injustice. During 4 years the communities followed the necessary procedures set out in the Ley Orgánica del Municipio Libre del Estado, thus fulfilling the legal requirements of establishing a territory, which include, for example, a recognised authority and a population of more than 25,000.
On 3 January 2001, the 37 thousand inhabitants of the 67 communities established the Assembly of Sochiapa and inaugurated the office of its first mayor, thus arousing strong opposition from the powers in Playa Vicente.
On 21 March 2001, representatives of the municipality met with the Executive, Judiciary and the Assembly of the State in order to reach a compromise between the two parties. The members of the Sociapa Municipality agreed to dissolve the newly created Mayor’s office, creating in its place a Municipal Committee (Comité Pro Municipio de Sochiapa), whilst the Government pledged to create the legal conditions necessary to begin the process that would finally bring the municipal decree into being ; the judicial authorities undertook to make every effort to ensure the respect of non-aggression between the populations of Playa Vicente and of Sochiapa, and the government agreed to respect the elected authorities of Sochiapa, and to confer them powers in the domains of security, management and administration, as well as in local social and cultural projects.
Despite these agreements, the indigenous people’s human rights continued to be violated. On 1 April 2001 at about 11.00am, municipal police agents of Playa Vicente arrived in Arroyo Colorado Cruz Verde in a truck without number plates ; when inhabitants assembled to ask the reason for their presence, the police shot against them without any explanation, then driving the truck into the group of people. The inhabitants were forced to the ground to protect themselves and no-one was injured. Following these events, the community presented a written complaint to the authorities demanding an enquiry and adequate protection against this sort of police aggression.
Limeddh also points out that serious human rights violations against the region’s inhabitants have been taking place since 1995, all of which remain unpunished. A grave example is the attack by Playa Vicente municipal police against Alicia Celiz Martínez, Francisco Lorenzo Sevilla, Carlos Bonola Méndez, Cirilo Cruz Esteban and Pablo Pérez Santiago. The long-lasting consequences of the wounds sustained during these events, particularly by Alicia Celiz Martínez, led the indigenous community to make a formal complaint in Cosamalopán, demanding an official enquiry and an appropriate penalty against the perpetrators ; the authorities have so far taken no action.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Mexican Authorities urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the above-mentioned persons and to end the harassment of the people of Sociapa;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events in order to identify those reponsible, bring them to justice and apply the civil, penal or adminstrative sanctions stipulted by law;
iii. fully execute the legal agreements allowing autonomy to indigenous communities ;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental liberties in all the country in accordance with national law and international human rights norms.
Addresses:
· Doctor Vicente Fox Quezada, Presidente de la República Mexicana,
México Distrito Federal, Fax: (+52 5) 516 58 37, (+52 5) 515 57 29,
Email: radio@presidencia.gob.mx sprivada@presidencia.gob.mx
· Lic. Jorge Madrazo Cuellar, Procurador General de la República, Av.Reforma, esq. Violeta, Col Guerrero México DF, CP 06300 Mexico / DF México, Fax: (+52 5) 626 44 26, Email: ofproc@pgr.gob.mx
· Dr. José Luis Sobenares Fernández, Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Periféco Sur 3469, Col. San Jeronimo Lidice, CP 10200 México / Df México, Fax: (+52 5) 681 71 99, (+52 5) 681 92 39
· Emb. Mariclaire Acosta Urquidi, Embajadora Especial de Derechos Humanos y Democracia, Fax : +52 5327 30 45, Email : macosta@sre.gob.mx
· Mtro. Ricardo Sepúlveda; Director de la Unidad de Estudios Legislativos. Av. Reforma 99, Col. Tabacalera, C.P. 06030 México D.F. Fax: 0052-55-128 02 34; Tel: 0052-55-5128 0224, Email : rsepulveda@segob.gob.mx
· Misión Permanente de México ante las Naciones Unidas, Ginebra, Suiza, Fax. : (+ 41 22) 748 07 08; Email: mission.mexico@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the diplomatic representatives of Mexico in your country.
Geneva, July 31, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.