With an emaciated face, a thick khaki jacket and an oxygen probe on his face, former prosecutor Jesús Murillo Karam appeared by videoconference before a control judge, whom his defense asked to let him out of preventive detention due to his “delicate state of health.”
For two hours, his lawyers described in detail that, since his admission to the North Prison, Murillo has been transferred five times to various public hospitals, which is why he has not returned to prison since October 19.
“This is a person who could lose his life if he is not treated constantly,” lawyer Javier López García said after listing the former official’s illnesses, while Murillo rested his face on his two hands.
However, the appearance of the former prosecutor quickly changed when the prosecutor of the Ayotzinapa case, Lidia Bustamante, took the floor and presented seven pieces of evidence against him and concluded that “the state of health of the justiciable today is much better than the one he had that August 20 and 24”, when he was presented before the judge and linked to the process.
Annoyed, without the probe that accompanied him during the more than five hours that the hearing lasted – and even with a slight ironic smile – Murillo listened to the decision of Judge Marco Antonio Fuerte Tapia, who decided to leave him in prison at least until February, when his next hearing will be held.
Read more: Former prosecutor Jesús Murillo Karam will remain in pretrial detention; Judge gives three more months to close investigation
Murillo Karam’s Health & Accounts
On August 19, the former prosecutor was arrested outside his home in Lomas de Chapultepec, accused of the crimes of torture, forced disappearance and against the administration of justice for the Ayotzinapa case.
The next day, a hearing was held in which Judge Fuerte Tapia decided to impose justified preventive detention and, days later, link him to the process considering that, if released, there was “a high risk of flight” given the importance of the investigation and the profile of the former official.
Since then, Murillo has been transferred to five hospitals to receive medical attention and even undergo surgery, which is why his defense requested a hearing for the judge to review the precautionary measure again.
At the beginning of the day, lawyer Elba Marina Vázquez Mendoza explained the reasons why the defense considered that imposing another precautionary measure such as house arrest was ideal: her delicate state of health and that since November 15 the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) ordered the blocking of four of her bank accounts.
The lawyer also listed a dozen of the former official’s chronic conditions, such as hypertension, cerebral vascular insufficiency and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), conditions that, she said, make pretrial detention “a dangerous and disproportionate measure.”
“Because of the precarious health conditions he has and because he has a biological age of more than 80 years (…) It is clear that there can be no risk of flight of a person who cannot subsist on his own,” he said.
The listless mood of the former prosecutor changed when prosecutor Bustamante argued that it was not possible to grant him the change of precautionary measure, given that “the conditions have not changed objectively; the only thing that has changed is that Mr. JMK’s condition is better than on August 20 and 24.”
Later, he presented evidence in which experts and authorities described that “his state of health is stable.” He even described an expert report that indicated that the surgery that was performed was not necessary, since the level of obstruction of one of his carotid arteries was 35%, when these surgeries are only practiced when they are at 50% or 70% obstruction.
“Anyway, (the surgery) was performed preventively, even if it was riskier for his health, but when he came out of it well, the blood cardiovascular insufficiency was resolved, so there is no longer a risk,” said the prosecutor.
On the blocking of bank accounts by the UIF, the team of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) explained that, since the unit itself reported that in its investigation for the crime of operations with resources of illicit origin includes “direct relatives and front companies,” its “support network” was demonstrated.
“Thus, the incentive to escape today is much greater because he was already in preventive detention,” the prosecutor insisted.
Read more: The UIF denounces Jesús Murillo Karam for money laundering; Family business benefited from government contracts
The resolution against Murillo Karam
After more than an hour of recess to analyze his decision, the judge returned to the courtroom, from where he informed Murillo of his decision: the change of precautionary measure is not appropriate.
“The principle of exception is not updated since he is being benefited, although not formally, from hospital care,” he said in front of Murillo, visibly angry, who shook his head and rejected the judge’s arguments.
In addition, he assured that the chronic-degenerative diseases that the lawyers exposed were already known since the initial hearing, but Murillo “has been given the corresponding medical attention and even a surgery that was successful.”
Therefore, it determined that the former federal official remain temporarily hospitalized in the Medical Tower of Tepepan, until it is completely restored or a new opinion is prepared to know his state of health, which must be carried out by the FGR.
Referring to the blocking of FIU accounts, the judge said that this determination “evidences other resources that were unknown” and that even the blockades “are not definitive and could also be controversial through amparos.”
In other words, the judge concluded that, in the absence of a significant change in their purchasing power or in their support network to manage to flee or remain hidden, and because of their knowledge in the justice system, “the risk of flight prevails.” Therefore, Murillo must remain deprived of liberty.
Just before the end of the hearing, and at the request of the defense and the prosecution, the judge granted three more months for the end of the complementary investigation stage, which will conclude on February 24, 2023. Murillo heard this while he had to resign himself to remain detained for at least 90 more days.
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