translated from Spanish: 13 years of impunity in Atenco: victims demand punishment

To 13 years in the police operation in Atenco, State of Mexico, in which police officers committed serious violations of human rights and acts of sexual torture against protesters, victims allege that, while there is a ruling of an international tribunal, in Mexico case continues in the “total impunity”.
According to the Center, Pro human rights, accompanying the case, more than one decade later, there is a police element, nor any member of the chain of command, faced a prison sentence for one of the episodes of police violence and torture more embl ematicos in the modern history of Mexico.
So far, Justice has only come through the Inter-American Court of human rights, which last December announced a ruling which declared responsible for the Mexican State by serious human rights violations committed against women 11 that he reported having suffered illegal and arbitrary arrests, torture, and lack of access to justice.
Lee: The Mexican State is responsible for the sexual torture of women in Atenco: IACHR
In its judgment, also undertakes the Mexican State to implement measures of reparation of the damage, and non-recurrence of cases of torture by part of the police and the armed forces.
When this Friday met 13-year case, victims recount how in interview with Animal political operative, and, above all, the transfer back to prison, where the police threatened them with “burn them alive”, marked them for the rest of their lives.
“Not a symbolic public apology from the Government is interested in us. What we want is justice, punishment for the guilty. Because, well, other fighters who come behind us, will have the guarantee that the same thing to us 13 years ago will happen them,”say.
13 years later, I still fear
Cristina Sánchez wears a bodice of blue that reads California Happiness.
But his face, bags that accumulate under the eyes, and even their way of speaking and gesturing, do not transmit a little of that happiness “shouting” its clothing.
Rather, says the woman, one of the 11 that the Inter-American Court recognized as a victim in the case, his life has never known happiness like before that operation, where more than 2 thousand 500 elements, between federal, State, municipal and military police they tried to violently prevent installation of growers in the market, triggering a pitched battle with the residents of Atenco and Texcoco.
-Has already spent time – murmurs Cristina is voice, which pauses. But when I go down the street and I see a policeman, still quickens my heart.
Cristina is sitting on a couch, in a huge conference room of the Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez (ProDH), that accompanies legally the case of Atenco, together her teammates struggle Yolanda Muñoz, Italy Méndez and Ana María Velasco.
All, when asked if they expected the repression of the police that day, move uncomfortable on the couch and tell very similar stories of the physical and psychological sequelae – diabetes in some, hypertension in others, depression in all – that left them the attacks.
Read: Victims of police abuse in Atenco await key verdict in his complaint against the Mexican State
-The memory still burns us skin – says Italy Méndez, to try to explain how difficult that is for his companion Cristina, and for the rest, looking back in time.
After the sentencing of Italy, Cristina breathes deep.
-I never was a dangerous person, and so the police put me a pistol in the head – woman is started, and tips the gaze towards the beam of light coming through a window overlooking the courtyard, where an indigenous snags a soldier’s jaw sharpened on a mural painted on a long wall.
-None are people violent or threatening, so many police officers arrived to beat us, kicking us, to open up the head with clubs. It was something that caught us by surprise.
Yolanda Muñoz, for his part, recalls that, in addition to attacks on the operation, the worst was the five-hour transfer to prison, where, according to the judgement of the Inter-American Court, there was “touching, fondling, pinching, hits at intimate parties, as” breasts, genitals and mouth”, and”naked forced”.
-The path to jail was the horror – says very wide-eyed and highlighting the word horror, while her teammates listen to her and sit in silence.
-Sincerely, we thought that now we would not leave alive. Police shouted that we would burn alive and in prison he hoped us a “Welcome” that we do not omit – adds the woman, referring to assaults and sexual torture of which they were victims.
“They told us liars”
Later, when it took the blows, kicks, sexual assaults and macabre etc, came the second part of the horror: the victimized and the lack of access to justice.
-From the beginning, when we went to denounce what happened, authorities in Mexico attended us very badly – stressed Cristina-. They told us that we were a liar, ourselves we had beaten, and that the bruising our husbands did us. This was followed, for years, to sink morale.
Ultimately, persuaded Yolanda, access to justice in Mexico for them “has been impossible”.
And proof of this, says Stephanie Brewer, lawyer of the Pro Centre, now is that, to 13 years in the facts, “the case remains in total impunity”.
-There were a couple of proceedings at the beginning – to remember the lawyer.- But they were badly constructed (by the then Attorney General of the Republic) and remained unpunished. Then, the Supreme Court of Justice, when it had the power to investigate serious crimes, made an investigation of the case, and the National Commission of human rights (NCHR) issued a recommendation. But, to date, there is no sanction for those responsible for acts of torture, nor for all the chain of command.
For this reason, explains Brewer, the Inter-American Court stated in its judgment in the case of Atenco against the Mexican State, this is not only for assaults and sexual torture against women, but also by the refusal of the justice.
The Court found that it was not investigated, judged and sanctioned to all persons responsible for the operation, both material and intellectual. So ordered the Mexican State to carry out a thorough investigation of the facts with a gender perspective, and to include all forms of responsibility at the federal and State levels.
In addition, exposes Stephanie Brewer, between the points of the judgment which the Court requires Mexico to comply, since it is a binding ruling, there are measures for the non-repetition of the facts, which establishes the creation of an independent Observatory of Supervision External to monitor the operation of the Federal Police and the police of the State of Mexico.
This measure takes up a proposal from civil society, so that there is an external and independent monitoring in the country not to leave in the hands of the internal units of police surveillance and combat issues such as overuse of the pubic force , and torture.
While other measures, added the lawyer of the Pro Centre, is strengthening work, structure and infrastructure, the Government mechanism, which already exists, to combat the sexual torture against women, which coordinates the National Commission for Prevention and eradication of violence against women (Conavim).
-Reach the Inter-American Court and to issue a ruling in our favor was a triumph – emphasizes Cristina Sánchez-. Because we planted a background so that it does not become a repetition of what happened in Atenco 13 years ago.
You can interest: Mexico accepts liability for torture in Atenco, but justifies violence against protesters
Sorry Yes, but with punishment
However, despite the historic landmark that was the judgement of the Inter-American Court, the truth is that now the Mexican State has a period of up to two years to go to implementing and complying with the measures. And, for now, neither of the two exposed by the lawyer of the Pro Centre, have been included in the new law that created the National Guard.
But for the lawyer, who says that the past April 4 already held a first inter-agency meeting with the Ministry of the Interior, the victims, and the civil society, there is still time to include these measures of the judgment in the secondary legislation of the Guard.
-The new Government has a great opportunity to show that, apart from the words, you want to actually install these appropriate controls so that, in cases of abuse and torture by police, has real consequences and is not already emitted the impunity that, 13 years , still carries these women to continue seeking justice – points for its part Sofía of Robina, lawyer of the international area of Center Prodh.
Meanwhile, women have it clear: shall conform not only with public acts of apology.
-I have a natural distrust of Mexican State – supported Italy with a brief smile-. I don’t care who it is, because our experience with Felipe Calderón y Peña Nieto was frustrating and revictimizante.
-Now – he adds-, the new Government says that it has the slogan comply fully with the judgment. And our position is that we will not settle for less than what includes the sentence.
-IE – it concludes, categorical-. For us, the symbolic part of the forgiveness of the State, is only possible if it is directly linked to the access to justice, and that those responsible pay for what happened in Atenco for 13 years.
 
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Original source in Spanish