@Frayba

In a bulletin published on April 16th, the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI), the World Organization Against Torture (WOAT) and the Group of Litigants in Latin America said that the statements of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) last April 5th, affirming that in Mexico “we have eradicated torture” contradict “what was sustained by various instances of the United Nations Organization (UN) on their different visits to this country who affirm that torture in Mexico is widespread and systematic”, a perception they share.

As an example of this, between January 2019 and March 2020, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba) documented 18 cases of torture perpetrated in the current penal system in Chiapas.

“The practice of torture is rooted and propagated in Mexico. There is mistrust within the new penal system, specifically in the officials in charge of law enforcement for continuing to validate the acts of torture carried out by the police forces, which perpetuate this method as part of their practice of investigating crimes. This is due to the lack of education, training and awareness regarding the new judicial system, where we have verified the lack of technique to investigate, preserve evidence, guard evidence and take care of the chain of custody in the facts”, they maintained.

They also noted that “despite having a General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Punish Torture in Mexico, the Special Prosecutors for the Investigation of the Crime of Torture are unaware of it, which allows this violation of human rights to continue to be committed on a daily basis.”

They ended by urging “the President of the Republic not to use the public health crisis derived from the pandemic by COVID 19, to issue information that goes against the protection, respect and guarantee of human rights, since such circumstances contribute to the climate impunity and favors torture.”

For more information in Spanish:

Negar la existencia de la Tortura en México alienta la impunidad (OSC, 16 de abril de 2020)

AMLO da informe trimestral y plan económico para México por coronavirus (Milenio el 5 de abril de 2020)

Pestes, créditos y abrazos. Informe trimestral de AMLO en 23 frases clave (El Universal el 5 de abril de 2020)

Esto fue lo anunciado por AMLO para México en su informe trimestral (El Imparcial el 5 de abril de 2020)

For more information from SIPAZ:

National: Lopez Obrador Makes Fifth Trimster Report; Assures “We Will Prevail” (April 10, 2020)

National/International: “When Words Are Not Enough” – Amnesty International Report almost One Year after AMLO Takes Office (December 4, 2019)

International/National: Un Human Rights Committee Issues 48 Human Rights Recommendations for Mexico (November 12, 2019)

National/International: CAT Issues Recommendations on Torture in Mexico (May 22, 2019)