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CNDH Recommendation Strengthens PRODH’s Legal Defense of Environmentalists Montiel and Cabrera On August 10, 2000, the national newspaper La Jornada reported that the Secretary of Defense (SEDENA) accepts Recommendation 8/2000 issued by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) regarding environmentalists Rodolfo Montiel Flores and Teodoro Cabrera García. La Jornada cites Official Letter 53914, sent by Brigadier General Fernando Cardoso Partida, Deputy Chief of Military Documentation to the Commander of the 9th Military Zone, in which he wrote that SEDENA would immediately carry out "the actions necessary to comply with" the CNDH recommendation.The CNDH recommendation concludes that the environmentalists’ human rights were violated. They were illegally detained and tortured, and weapons and marijuana plants were planted on them. The CNDH found that Montiel and Cabrera were not in possession of weapons at the time of their arrest, nor did evidence exist linking them to the alleged cultivation of marijuana. The CNDH cited a letter written by the Commander of the 35 th Military Zone in which he reported that the weapons were found during a search, not during the environmentalists’ arrest or detention. Likewise, the CNDH rejected the accusations of marijuana cultivation because the agent of the Public Ministry that was in the community of Pizotla during the environmentalists’ detention never reported the existence of marijuana plants. It is important to note that SEDENA’s acceptance of the CNDH recommendation is just the first step, and it remains to be seen if they will fully comply. According to Article 137 of CNDH bylaw, the SEDENA has 15 days to send proof of full compliance with the recommendation. SEDENA has not complied with this responsibility in other cases of human rights violations committed by members of the military, such as Recommendations 96/97 and 100/97 1. It is of vital importance that in this case that the CNDH effectively monitor and verify SEDENA’s compliance with their recommendation. Among the soldiers who should be investigated and possibly prosecuted are: General Brigadier J. Pérez Toledo, Commander of the 35th Military Zone; the Commander of the 9th Military Region, based in Cumbre de Llano Largo, Acapulco, Guerrero state; Lieutenant Coronel José Pedro Arciniega Gómez of the 40th Infantry Battalion; Second Captain Artemio Nazario Carballo of the 40th Infantry Battalion; and Second Sargeant Calixto Rodríguez Salmeron of the 40th Infantry Battalion, among other members of the military mentioned in the Recommendation. In this case, in accordance with the Federal Law to Prevent and Sanction Torture, those responsible for torture can be sentenced from three to twelve years in prison; they can also be charged with Abuse of Authority and Illegal Privation of Liberty, the sentences for which range from 2 to 9 and 20 to 40 years in prison, respectively. Recommendation 8/2000 does not address our concern that human rights violations committed by members of the military against civilians are investigated by the Military Prosecutor and tried in military courts. The trial of soldiers by military courts does not guarantee the rights to impartiality and effective access to justice. Furthermore, this practice goes against criteria established by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations. The IACHR, in its report on Mexico’s human rights situation, recommended that the Mexican government "to act in a meaningful, immediate and effective manner to ensure that complaints about violations of the right to life committed by members of the Mexican police or Armed Forces are immediately and thoroughly investigated and that those found guilty are duly punished" (paragraph 702). The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture recommended, after his visit to Mexico, that "Cases of serious crimes committed by military personnel against civilians, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, should, regardless of whether they took place in the course of service, be subject to civilian justice." PRODH once again insists that the investigation and prosecution of the soldiers mentioned in the CNDH recommendation should be carried out by the Federal Attorney General’s Office, and the possible trial be held in civil courts. The Fifth District Judge of Iguala, Guerrero, has until August 25 to rule on the Montiel/Cabrera case. The Public Ministry did not offer any evidence other than the confessions obtained under torture. Yet Article 8 of the Federal Law to Prevent and Sanction Torture states that no confession obtained under torture can be used as evidence. In addition, the CNDH recommendation, as a public document, should be given full evidentiary value, according to Articles 280 and 281 of the Federal Code of Criminal Procedures. As a result, the Fifth District Judge should acquit and immediately release Montiel and Cabrera, as there is no evidence that prove their guilt, as well as because they were tortured, illegally detained, and framed with planted weapons and marijuana plants. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
