President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported that Israel has not responded on the extradition of Tomás Zerón, former director of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) and who is accused of torture, but he hoped that the country would act in accordance with a policy of respect for human rights.
In a morning conference, the president denied that the extradition of the former official has been delayed by Mexico’s position on the conflict with Palestine, as reported by The New York Times.
“There has not yet been a response (from extradition). Hopefully, the Government of Israel will act with respect for human rights because the extradition of this public official is being requested, among other things, for acts of torture,” he said.
“Hopefully the Government of Israel will act with respect for human rights,” @lopezobrador_ said of the extradition of Tomás Zerón and denied that the former official has not been extradited because of Mexico’s position on the conflict with Palestine. pic.twitter.com/QG5xpxss5S
— Animal Politico (@Pajaropolitico) July 22, 2021
Regarding the information published by the newspaper, López Obrador said that Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard sent a note to the Government of Israel and the country’s ambassador to Mexico clarified that it was not an official position.
On Monday, Israel’s ambassador to Mexico, Zvi Tal, also denied that the reason Zerón has not been extradited is because of the Mexican government’s stance on the Palestinian conflict.
Through his Twitter account, he claimed that Israel does not involve political considerations in dealing with extradition requests and that the source cited by the newspaper “has no involvement or authority in these matters.”
“I can confirm that Israeli authorities have been in contact with their Mexican counterparts and have made clear the level of evidence and requirements under Israeli law,” he wrote.
Read: Tomas Zerón is in Israel and Mexico will request his arrest: AMLO
He stated that there is no delay in this matter on the part of the Israeli side and that the purpose of the dialogue between the competent authorities of both nations is to ensure that the extradition request is duly entered and considered.
With reference to the article published in the #newyorktimes (17.7) “Tomas Zeron sought by the justice of Mexico takes refuge in Israel” I want to clarify that the aforementioned claims have no basis whatsoever. The cited source has no involvement or authority in these matters.
— Zvi Tal (@AmbZviTal) July 20, 2021
On April 27, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) reported on a new arrest warrant against Tomás Zerón, former director of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the defunct PGR, for probable acts of torture.
According to the agency, the acts of torture “were for Felipe ‘R’ “to declare what was being forced on him, in order to justify the so-called ‘historical truth,'” in the case of the 43 normalists who disappeared from Ayotzinapa.
On April 23, the Specialized Unit for Investigation and Litigation of the Ayotzinapa Case (UEILCA) obtained an arrest warrant against Zerón for the probable crimes of forced disappearance of persons, torture and coalition of public servants.
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