UNITED MEXICAN STATES: Shocking rise in reports of torture and ill-treatment as authorities turn a blind eye

5 Sep 2014

[International Secretariat]

Region: UNITED MEXICAN STATES

Topic:

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission received more than 7,000 complaints for torture and other ill-treatment between 2010 and 2013. © Claudia Daut/Reuters

The report charts a serious rise of torture and other ill-treatment and a prevailing culture of tolerance and impunity. Only seven torturers have ever been convicted in federal courts and even fewer have been prosecuted at state level.

“The shocking rise means the threat of ill-treatment hangs heavy over the heads of every person in the country. Amnesty International’s own survey found 64 per cent of Mexican citizens are afraid that they would be tortured if detained by the authorities.”

The report is the first in a series of five country reports to be released as part of Amnesty International’s global STOP TORTURE campaign.

This report details how, between 2010 and the end of 2013 the National Human Rights Commission received more than 7,000 complaints for torture and other ill-treatment. There has been a recent reported drop in 2014, but rates are still far higher than a decade ago.

Victims in different parts of the country told Amnesty International that they were subject to beatings, death threats, sexual violence, electric shocks and near asphyxiation at the hands of police or the armed forces.

Ángel Amílcar Colón Quevedo, a black Honduran, faced torture and abuse by police and military based on his status as a migrant and his race. He was beaten, asphyxiated using a plastic bag, stripped, forced to perform humiliating acts and was subjected to racist verbal abuse. He remains in prison awaiting trial having been charged on the basis of the statement he was forced to make as a result of his torture.

Amnesty International’s report documents the cases of more than 20 more people like Ángel Colón.

Despite legal prohibition, the criminal justice system continues to accept evidence obtained as result of arbitrary detention and torture. This not only encourages the continued use of torture and other ill-treatment, but it also means that unfair trials and unsafe convictions are rife, further undermining the credibility of the justice system and the human rights of criminal defendants.

“The lack of credible, thorough investigations into allegations of torture constitutes a double-abuse.  If the authorities fail to gather evidence of their mistreatment, victims are left without remedy and unable to demonstrate that their ‘confessions’ were extracted under duress,” said Erika Guevara.

“It is time to radically overhaul the investigation of allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, particularly the application of the internationally recognised standards of the Istanbul Protocol. The Mexican authorities must also ensure that the evidence gathered by independent medical experts can be recognised in judicial proceedings.”

The report identifies a series of measures that must be taken to prevent, investigate and punish torture and other ill-treatment, starting with an acknowledgement by the government of the scale of torture and a public commitment to combating this grave human rights violation as a top priority. 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE
4 September 2014