TWO MEN TORTURED IN MEXICO | BOLETÍN DE PRENSA OCEZ-RVC

TWO MEN TORTURED IN MEXICO

Two men, both members of a peasant farmers' organization in Chiapas state, southern Mexico, have been tortured in custody after being arrested without a warrant. A third man who is a member of the same organization is being held 2,000km away, where he is unable to see his lawyer and family. All three men are accused of illegally occupying land in 2005.

In the early hours of 24 October the homes in Venustiano Carranza municipality of several members of Organización Campesina Emiliano Zapata (“Emiliano Zapata” Peasant Organisation, OCEZ) were searched by state police. When the police entered the home of Roselio de la Cruz González, they hit and threatened one of his sons at gunpoint to reveal the whereabouts of his father. Roselio de la Cruz immediately gave himself up. His family saw him being hit in the stomach before being bundled in a police van. On the same night, police entered the nearby home of José Manuel de la Torre Hernández. They hit him and his three children who were trying to stop him being taken away. The police did not show warrants to arrest the men or search their homes. Other homes of OCEZ members in the area were searched, but no one else was arrested. According to a local human rights organization, hundreds of police officers and soldiers remained in the area for at least two days.

Roselio de la Cruz and José Manuel de la Torre are currently held in a state prison. Their lawyer said that during interrogation, they were blindfolded, bound and beaten. Roselio de la Cruz was also threatened with death, while officials put a plastic bag over the head of José Manuel de la Torre until he was almost suffocating, then he was forced to inhale water till he fainted. Both men were forced to sign papers which they were not allowed to read. Another member of OCEZ who lives in the area, José Manuel Hernández Martínez, was arrested on 30 September. Though he should be held by the Chiapas state authorities, on 16 October he was moved to a federal prison 2,000 km away. This is too far for his family and lawyer to visit him, and so he is effectively held incommunicado.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language, calling on the Mexican authorities:

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To guarantee that Roselio de la Cruz and José Manuel de la Torre will not be tortured or otherwise ill-treated;

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To immediately carry out an impartial investigation into their torture, with those responsible brought to justice;

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To ensure that the two men are either released immediately, or else charged promptly with a recognizably criminal offence and tried fairly according to international standards, with any evidence obtained through torture ruled inadmissible;

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To ensure that José Manuel Hernández Martínez has access to his family and lawyer;

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To end illegal house searches and intimidation of OCEZ supporters and other inhabitants of Venustiano Carranza, and to investigate into the conduct of the police operation.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 8 DECEMBER 2009 TO:

Governor of Chiapas

Lic. Juan Sabines Guerrero

Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas

Palacio de Gobierno

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, MEXICO

Fax: +52 961 6188050 ext. 21122

Email: juansabines@chiapas.gob.mx

Salutation: Dear Governor/Señor Gobernador

Chiapas Attorney General

Mtro. Raciel Lopez Salazar

Procuraduria General de Justicia

Libramiento Norte no.201

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico

Fax: + 52 961 6165724

Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Señor Procurador

　

Attorney General of the Republic

Lic. Arturo Chávez Chávez

Procuraduría General de la Republica

Av. Paseo de la Reforma no. 211.213, México D.F., C.P. 06500, MEXICO

Fax: + 52 55 53 460908

Salutation:

Dear Attorney General/ Señor ProcuradorCOPIES TO:

“Fray Bartolomé” Human Rights centre Email: accionurgente@frayba.org.mx

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of Mexico accredited to your country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

URGENT ACTION

TWO MEN TORTURED IN MEXICO

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San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. 30 de Octubre de 2009.

 

A LOS PUEBLOS DE CHIAPAS, MÉXICO Y DEL MUNDO

A LOS ORGANISMOS INTERNACIONALES DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

A LOS MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN NACIONALES E INTERNACIONALES

A LAS ORGANIZACIONES INDEPENDIENTES Y SOLIDARIAS.

 

 

BOLETÍN DE PRENSA

ORGANIZACIÓN CAMPESINA EMILIANO ZAPATA (OCEZ-RVC)

 

1. El día de hoy, los familiares e integrantes de nuestra Organización Campesina Emiliano Zapata (OCEZ-RVC) hemos decidido como una medida desesperada para lograr la liberación de nuestros compañeros José Manuel Hernández Martínez, José Manuel de la Torre Hernández y Roselio de la Cruz González refugiarnos en calidad de desplazados internos por parte del ejército en las oficinas del Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) ubicado en la ciudad de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas.
2. Para tal acción, le hemos solicitado a nuestro abogado, el compañero Marcos López Pérez sus buenos oficios para que de manera simbólica nos acompañe y nos entregue en las instalaciones del PNUD en Chiapas.
3. Queremos manifestar que este es un acto pacífico y apegado al derecho internacional en materia de desplazamientos internos forzados, por lo que solicitamos al PNUD su intervención urgente para que de manera inmediata el Gobierno de México en la figura de Felipe Calderón Hinojosa y Juan Sabines Guerrero retiran la ocupación militar en nuestras comunidades y se libere a nuestros compañeros presos políticos y de conciencia.
4. Manifestamos también que deslindamos de esta acción a todos los empleados del PNUD, quienes desconocían esta medida que tomamos como una acción desesperada para llamar la atención sobre nuestra situación actual en la ciudad de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, en donde nos encontramos refugiados, enfermos y sufriendo las inclemencias del tiempo ya que el ejército y la policía estatal ha ocupado nuestras comunidades.
5. Agradecemos sinceramente toda la enorme solidaridad que hemos recibido de personas y organizaciones a nivel internacional, Amnistía Internacional, al Frente Nacional de Lucha por el Socialismo (FNLS), La Otra Campaña, organismos de derechos humanos, pero sobretodo del pueblo de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, a quienes les hemos pedido en múltiples ocasiones su comprensión.

 

¡ALTO A LA GUERRA DE MEDIANA INTENSIDAD HACIA LAS COMUNIDADES Y PUEBLOS INDÍGENAS DE CHIAPAS!

¡ALTO A LA CRIMINALIZACIÓN DE LOS LUCHADORES SOCIALES EN CHIAPAS!

¡PRESOS POLÍTICOS Y DE CONCIENCIA DE MÉXICO LIBERTAD!

¡ALTO A LOS DESPLAZAMIENTOS FORZADOS DE COMUNIDADES POR EL EJÉRCITO FEDERAL EN CHIAPAS!

 

¡CON LA UNIÓN DE LOS POBRES…VENCEREMOS!

ORGANIZACIÓN CAMPESINA EMILIANO ZAPATA (OCEZ-RVC)