Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico: Need to Expand Indictments in Case of Disappeared Ayotzinapa Students La Jornada: Miguel Concha* On Monday four months will have gone by since the unfortunate events of Iguala, Guerrero, where 43 young students were forcibly disappeared, three were arbitrarily executed, and twenty were tortured and gravely injured. We also know that José Luis Abarca, Igualas mayor at the time, and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda, as well as nearly a hundred people, both civil servants and members of criminal groups were arrested. One might then consider the legal process initiated thus far against them, their relationship to the events of September 26-27 and the rights of victims. First, we would have to say that the information provided by the Attorney Generals Office (PGR) to the media leads us to suspect that up to now the couples indictments are not necessarily in connection with the Iguala events. It could be, however, that José Luis Abarca was captured and finally indicted for some strange motive but, official statements notwithstanding, any immediate accusation that would relate him directly to the case of Ayotzinapa has been avoided. We understand that the indictment is, above all, for felonies of organized crime, kidnapping and homicide. Similarly, his wife also faces charges of organized crime; namely, for drug trafficking and money laundering. But up to now throughout this entire criminal process, none of the crimes mentioned by the authorities have any explicit connection with the disappearance, murder and torture of people in Iguala on September 26. It is worrisome, I repeat, that remanding [this couple] to the judge for these unfortunate events might be for other crimes, but not for the disappearance of the 43 young people. Furthermore, the lack of clarity in the information provided up to now by the authority to society is obvious. For example, the chief director of the PGRs Agency of Criminal Investigation, Tomás Zerón Lucio, recently reported that new arrest warrants against Abarca for the events of September 26th would be issued. However, four months after the events, complete uncertainty remains. Neither we, the families nor society at large know for what crimes, modalities and who would be the victims in criminal proceedings supposedly relating the Abarcas to the Ayotzinapa case. After consulting with specialists, and in adherence to human rights, I venture to suggest that in the case of the former mayor, the PGR should delay no longer in charging him with such crimes as forced disappearance, clandestine burial of people, masterminding murder and, of course, torture, to name only some that I consider important. With regard to the wife, the PGR should find sufficient evidence to prove her guilt to some degree in the material or intellectual [mastermind] commission of these crimes. Indeed, and much to our regret, the investigations and indictments carried out by the PGR seem to us to be insufficient and even spineless. They do not move forward in ensuring the rights to access the truth and justice that all the families and young normal school classmates have. They have fallen short because, by indicting for the crimes that I have mentiond, definitely one could make significant progress in obtaining justice, since the crimes of forced disappearance and torture are, in effect, committed by the State as a whole, and therefore cause grief to the Mexican criminal justice system. MV Note: The Inter-American Convention for Forced Disappearance of Persons defines forced disappearance as the act of depriving a person or persons of his or their freedom, in whatever way, perpetrated by agents of the state, or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state, followed by an absence of information or a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the whereabouts of that person, thereby impeding his or her recourse to the applicable legal remedies and procedural guarantees. Article II, Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons. The definition of forced disappearance in Mexican law attributes the crime to a public servant who keeps the victim hidden under whatever form of detention. Unlike the international definitions—under which the crime continues as long as information about the victim is withheld—the Mexican definition appears to limit the crime to the time during which the victim is actually detained. Consequently, under Mexican law, the prosecution would probably have to establish that the disappeared person continues to be held in detention.... Mexico: Justice in Jeopardy, Human Rights Watch, July 2003 Thus, as the Mexican government considers the students to be dead, they are no longer disappeared. But if [these events are] investigated with due diligence, the damage is repaired and guarantees of non-repetition are generated, then we would be progressing in the transformation from a criminal State to one that truly respects equally the dignity of all individuals and peoples. These State crimes, in fact, conform to a definition given by Penny Green and Tony Ward, the realization of organizational deviation by State agencies that involves the violation of human rights. Making use of international criminal law, we can say that this deals with State actions that constitute crimes against humanity. Indeed, if we review in detail the international instruments on this subject, we can realize that in the case of forced disappearance and torture the responsibility is that of the State as a whole, and not just the first link in the chain of command. However, we have repeatedly seen that it [the State] has wanted to limit the Ayotzinapa case to an isolated event located in the state of Guerrero, ignoring the fact that all state structures are embedded in such a situation, and that the diversion of power effectively and systematically generated crimes and human rights violations. That is to say, they are State crimes. The specifics of the Ayotzinapa case provide sufficient evidence such that the PGR might progress in the investigations of forced disappearance and torture not only in the cases of the police and middle management, but also in the cases of the former mayor and any other senior official. Also, if it were the case, it is necessary to extend their lines of investigation to rule out the involvement of the Armed Forces in these gravely serious events and to prove that, in fact, no military personnel were involved. Otherwise, the State again fails to ensure the rights of all. Justice for Ayotzinapa does not mean conditioning or sparing resources and efforts in the search for the young people and punishment of the guilty, but radically transforming the state and criminal machinery that now directs its energy toward the extermination of the poorest people. Justice for Ayotzinapa is a different country and a different world. Spanish original *Miguel Concha, B.A., in Philosophy and Diplomate in Social Sciences (Rome), earned the Ph.D. in theology from Providence College, RI. Co-founder of the National Commission of Human Rights, Dr. Concha is a long-time professor at the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). In 2003, he was elected one of two vice-presidents of the Mexican Academy of Human Rights. See also: Ayotzinapa Students Case: Omissions And Loopholes With Lack of Charges of Forced Disappearance Lines of Investigation for Disappeared Ayotzinapa Students Have Been Exhausted Government Lacks Evidence that Mayor or Wife Ordered Ayotzinapa Student Executions Attorney General Has Weak Case Against Police and Others Arrested for Murders, Disappearances of Ayotzinapa Students Posted Mexico Voices by Jane Brundage jornada.unam.mx/2015/01/24/opinion/016a2pol
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:27:36 +0000
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