Urgent Action 10-28-09

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa28709.pdf


27 October 2009

UA 287/09 – Torture/ill-treatment

MEXICO
Roselio de la Cruz Gonzalez (m)
Jose Manuel de la Torre Hernandez (m)
Jose Manuel Hernandez Martinez (m)

Two men, both members of a peasant farmers' organization in Chiapas state, southern Mexico, have been tortured in custody after being arrested without a warrant. A third man who is a member of the same organization is being held 2,000km away, where he is unable to see his lawyer and family. All three men are accused of illegal occupying land in 2005.

In the early hours of 24 October the homes in Venustiano Carranza municipality of several members of Organizacion Campesina Emiliano Zapata ("Emiliano Zapata" Peasant Organisation, OCEZ) were searched by state police. When the police entered the home of Roselio de la Cruz Gonzalez, they hit and threatened one of his sons at gunpoint to reveal the whereabouts of his father. Roselio de la Cruz immediately gave himself up. His family saw him being hit in the stomach before being bundled in a police van. On the same night, police entered the nearby home of Jose Manuel de la Torre Hernandez. They hit him and his three children who were trying to stop him being taken away. The police did not show warrants to arrest the men or search their homes. Other homes of OCEZ members in the area were searched, but no one else was arrested. According to a local human rights organization, hundreds of police officers and soldiers remained in the area for at least two days.

Roselio de la Cruz and Jose Manuel de la Torre are currently held in a state prison. Their lawyer said that during interrogation, they were blindfolded, bound and beaten. Roselio de la Cruz was also threatened with death, while officials put a plastic bag over the head of Jose Manuel de la Torre until he was almost suffocating, then he was forced to inhale water till he fainted. Both men were forced to sign papers which they were not allowed to read. Another member of OCEZ who lives in the area, Jose Manuel Hernandez Martinez, was arrested on 30 September. Though he should be held by the Chiapas state authorities, on 16 October he was moved to a federal prison 2,000 km away. This is too far for his family and lawyer to visit him, and so he is effectively held incommunicado.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- To guarantee that that Roselio de la Cruz and Jose Manuel de la Torre will not be tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
- To immediately carry out an impartial investigation into their torture, with those responsible brought to justice;
- To ensure that the two men are either released immediately, or else charged promptly with a recognizably criminal offense and tried fairly according to international standards, with any evidence obtained through torture ruled inadmissible;
- To ensure that Jose Manuel Hernandez Martinez has access to his family and lawyer;
- To end illegal house searches and intimidation of OCEZ supporters and other inhabitants of Venustiano Carranza, and to investigate into the conduct of the police operation.


APPEALS TO:

Governor of Chiapas
Lic. Juan Sabines Guerrero
Gobernador del Estado de Chiapas
Palacio de Gobierno
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas
MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 961 6188050 ext. 21122
Email: juansabines@chiapas.gob.mx
Salutation: Dear Governor/Senor Gobernador

Chiapas Attorney General
Mtro. Raciel Lopez Salazar
Procuraduria General de Justicia
Libramiento Norte no.201
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas
MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 961 6165724
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Senor Procurador

Attorney General of the Republic
Lic. Arturo Chavez Chavez
Procuraduria General de la Republica
Av. Paseo de la Reforma no. 211.213
Mexico D.F., C.P. 06500
MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 53 460908
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Senor Procurador

COPIES TO:

Human Rights NGO
"Fray Bartolome" Human Rights center
Email: accionurgente@frayba.org.mx

Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20006
Fax: 1 202 728 1698
Email: mexembusa@sre.gob.mx


PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 8 December 2009.

----------------------------------
Tip of the Month:
Write as soon as you can. Try to write as close as possible to the date a case is issued.

** POSTAGE RATES **
Within the United States:
$0.28 - Postcards
$0.44 - Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Canada:
$0.75 - Postcards
$0.75 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To Mexico:
$0.79 - Postcards
$0.79 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)
To all other destination countries:
$0.98 - Postcards
$0.98 - Airmail Letters and Cards (up to 1 oz.)

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------