AMR 41/059/2007 - 19 October 2007 Prisoner of conscience Magdalena Garcia Duran has won a third federal injunction (amparo) against her detention. However, Amnesty International is concerned that rather than ordering her immediate release, the authorities will seek to avoid releasing her as they have done on previous occasions in order to continue her unfair and unfounded prosecution. The latest federal injunction was granted on 16 October and ruled that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate Magdalena Garcia Duran’s involvement in the alleged offence of kidnapping six police officers (secuestro equiparado) and attacks on public roads and means of transport (ataque a las vias de comunicacion y medios de transporte), during civil disturbances in the city of San Salvador Atenco, State of Mexico on 3 and 4 May 2006. The ruling nullified the state court judgeís previous decision to commit her for trial.
Magdalena GarcÌa Duran, a Mazahua Indigenous activist, street vendor and mother of five children, has been in prison since 4 May 2006 when she was arbitrarily arrested in San Salvador Atenco. After six days in detention she was informed of the charges against her, remanded into custody and was committed for trial. She has consistently denied the charges and her defence lawyer has presented evidence to indicate that Magdalena GarcÌa Duran was not in San Salvador Atenco at the time the offences of which she was accused took place. On 11 August 2006, a federal judge granted an injunction against the state judgeís order to commit her to trial, noting that the case should have been heard by the state judge nearest the scene of the crime. On 7 November 2006, a second federal injunction was granted on the basis of insufficient evidence linking Magdalena GarcÌa Duran to the crimes. The federal judge concluded that the state judge failed to properly weigh up the evidence, including the fact that several police statements concerning Magdalena GarcÌa Duran’s alleged involvement in the crimes were all identical. However, the state judge did not order her release and the Federal Attorney Generalís Office (Procuraduria General de la Republica - PGR), which had claimed to have no interest in the case, filed for a review of the federal injunction. Later a higher federal court confirmed the original injunction decision ; however, the state court judge avoided ordering her release by issuing a new order committing her to trial and passed the case to the correct state judge, the one nearest to the crime scene.
The third and most recent federal injunction again recognises the lack of evidence against Magdalena GarcÌa Duan and nullifies the state judgeís order to commit her for trial. Amnesty International, which has studied numerous court documents relating to the case, has identified the disparity in the standards applied by state judges to evaluate defence and prosecution evidence, and the failure to uphold the principle of the presumption of innocence of the accused. Amnesty International believes that the state authorities and the PGR have not acted impartially and have ignored the lack of evidence against Magdalena GarcÌa Duran, in order to continue the unfair case against her. Amnesty International believes Magdalena GarcÌa Duran ís prolonged detention is politically motivated and unjustified, the authorities have failed to provide evidence of her involvement in the crimes of which she is accused, there are number of indications that the little evidence of her involvement is probably fabricated and, therefore, the organisation considers her a prisoner of conscience.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION On 3 and 4 May 2006, almost 3,000 state and federal police took part in operations against demonstrations led by a local peasant farmers’ organization, Peopleís Front in Defence of the Land (Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra, FPDT) in Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco, Mexico State. The police operation resulted in the arrest of 207 people, the death of two civilians, scores of injured protesters and police, a number of police being held hostage temporarily and many detainees suffering torture, ill-treatment and sexual assault (see Amnesty Internationalís report Mexico : Violence against women and justice denied in Mexico State, AI index AMR 41/028/2006). At the time of writing, more than 150 of the people detained during the protests are being prosecuted on charges of attacking public roads (ataques a las vÌas de comunicacion). Twenty-four of these people are still imprisoned, charged with the additional serious offence of kidnapping police officers. Judicial proceedings against the accused have been mired by irregularities and have consistently failed to meet international human rights standards.
RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language :
expressing your belief that the continued detention of Magdalena Garcia Duran is politically motivated and unjustified ;
expressing concern that despite the lack of evidence of her involvement in violent crimes, which has been consistently confirmed by the federal judiciary, she has been held in prison for more than 18 months ;
noting that a third federal injunction (amparo) granted in favour of Magdalena Garcia Duran emphasises the lack of grounds for her continued detention and prosecution ;
calling on the authorities to take immediate steps to end this injustice and release Magdalena Garcia Duran immediately and unconditionally.
APPEALS TO : President of Mexico : Lic. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Residencia Oficial de « Los Pinos », Casa Miguel Aleman Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, Mexico D.F., C.P. 11850, MEXICO, Fax : +52 55 52772376 E-mail : felipe.calderon presidencia.gob.mx Salutation : Senor Presidente / Dear Mr President
Governor of Mexico State : Lic. Enrique Pena Nieto Gobernador del Estado de Mexico, Palacio de Gobierno, 1∫ piso Lerdo Poniente No. 300 Poniente, Col. Centro, Toluca 50000, Estado de Mexico, MEXICO Fax : +52 722 214 4172 Email : gob gem.gob.mx Salutation : Dear Governor/ Senor Gobernador
Federal Attorney General : Lic. Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza Procurador General de la Republica, Paseo de la Reforma No. 211-213, Piso 16 Col. Cuauhtemoc, Del. Cuauhtemoc, Mexico D.F., C.P. 06500, MEXICO Fax : +52 55 53 46 09 08 (if somebody answers please say ìme da tono de fax por favorî) Email : ofproc pgr.gob.mx Salutation : Senor Procurador/ Dear Attorney General
Public Prosecutor of Mexico State : Lic. Abel Villacana Estrada Procurador General de Justicia del Estado de Mexico Av. Morelos Oriente. No. 1300, Piso 6, Centro Estatal de Justicia Col. San Sebasti·n, Toluca 50090, Estado de Mexico, MEXICO Fax : +52 722 2153123, Email : abel.v.e edomex.gob.mx Salutation : Dear Prosecutor/ Senor Procurador
COPIES TO : Local human rights organization Bufete JurÌdico Tierra y Libertad, Antonio Caso No. 73, Despacho 22, Col. San Rafael, Mexico D.F., C.P. 06470, MEXICO.
Ambassade des Etats Unis Mexicains Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 94, 1050 Bruxelles Fax : 02.644.08.19 / Fax : 02.646.87.68 Email : embamexbelgica-ue skynet.be
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 30 November 2007.
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