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News :: Civil & Human Rights : Globalization : International Relations : Latin America : Media : Protest Activity |
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Repression Worsens in Guadalajara |
Current rating: 0 |
by La Jornada repost from global IMC
(No verified email address) |
03 Jun 2004
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The repression against nonconformist young people here becomes more serious every day. Since this morning, patrols of the Preventive Police continue to surround the Independent Media Center (CMI)—filial of the international agency Indymedia—on the corner of Zaragoza and Juan Manuel, and in the evening, anti-riot police forcefully dispersed a peaceful assembly in front of the Municipal Palace. Through the course of several hours, seven boys were taken prisoner—one of whom, Benjamin Quirarte, was brutally beaten in the installations of Public Security. |
JAIME AVILES ENVIADO
Guadalajara, Jalisco, June 2
The repression against nonconformist young people here becomes more serious every day. Since this morning, patrols of the Preventive Police continue to surround the Independent Media Center (CMI)—filial of the international agency Indymedia—on the corner of Zaragoza and Juan Manuel, and in the evening, anti-riot police forcefully dispersed a peaceful assembly in front of the Municipal Palace. Through the course of several hours, seven boys were taken prisoner—one of whom, Benjamin Quirarte, was brutally beaten in the installations of Public Security.
Two girls were affixing posters on the façade of that building to demand the freedom of their 44 companions, imprisoned since Monday in the penitentiary of Puente Grande, when men in uniform attacked the small crowd and, as they did on Friday night, unleashed a new wave of attacks, although in smaller scale, against the demonstrators.
For their part, the 9th and 10th courts set fines that range from 25 thousand and 185 thousand pesos against the men and women subject to processes, but, according to the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAND) the amount imposed upon those coming from Mexico City, Nuevo Leon and Sinaloa are much higher and they “do not know why” the natives of Jalisco received lesser fines for the same “offenses.”
Liliana Galaviz López, photographer and media activist working with CMI, whose whereabouts were unknown since Monday morning, when she was removed from the cells of the General Office of Justice of the State of Jalisco (PGJEJ) after undergoing humiliation and torture, was found yesterday (Tuesday) in the old Civil Hospital. The girl, with serious injuries caused by blows to the head and back, remains interred like detention in the “girls’ room” of Nosocomio, where her declaration before the court personnel of the Tenth Court of Common law has already been exhausted.
El Mapache’s Birthday
Jorge Octavio Castilla Gutiérrez, El Mapache (“The Racoon”), prisoner in Puente Grande, in a disposition to the ninth court of the penitentiary for riot crimes, injuries, attacks to the general routes of communication and resistance to the law and arrest, can be proud of one thing: he did not sign any declaration that incriminated himself despite physical and psychological torture applied to him in the cells of the PGJEJ, the Jaliscan branch of Abu Ghraib prison.
“They said to me: you are going to know ‘the heat of Jalisco.’ They put a plastic bag on my head and hit me in the stomach with sticks surrounded in sponge so as to not leave marks. When they doubled the pain and I wanted to beathe out of my mouth, I felt drowned by the plastic on my mouth,” he said in his declaration before the actuary of the court.
He added: “Many times they said to me that they were going to rape me if I did not sign. And as I refused, they lowered my pants and several of them opened the fly; later they stood me up, by then they gave me electric shocks on my genitals.”
Those, he recalled, were the worst moments of the torture. When the situation was more “calm,” they aimed puñetazos (tazers) at his head and kicked him in the legs. “I told them no, not in the head, because last year they assaulted me in Contreras (Districto Federal) and because of the concussion they gave me in the skull I was in a comma for two months. But they did it anyway, until I bled, with much pleasure,” he related unperturbedly in front of the court reporter, who keyed his words without losing her composure.
Nevertheless, when he expressed, “they did not let me sleep,” the functionary of the court reported: “the agents had said to him the he already went to sleep.” Each time he described a new sequence of beatings, the cagatinta (bureaucrat) cut him off: “Stop repeating yourself, you have already said this many times.” And when he tried to take off his shirt to show the bruises, which gave his skin the sinister aspect of a giraffe, the tinterillo (bureaucrat) did not even turn around to see it, but protested to him: “I gave you a warning before, and I have already closed the record.”
Originally from Mexico City, El Mapache is proud because he was not broken, but this, although is speaks well of his moral integrity, was an error according to his lawyers, because in the cells “one may sign whatever they give you to leave sooner, and when you arrive at the court you deny it, and when a declaration is declared invalid it is automatically annulled.”
In any case, El Mapeche turned 22 years old Monday and feels confident and hopeful that his legal situation will be resolved soon.
Chauvinism in the Fines
Member of the ANAD, the laywer Francisco González Razo does not understand why the judges established fines of 25 thousand pesos for the detainees that were born in Jalsico and from 50 thousand for those born elsewhere. That, perhaps, is due to the climate of general chauvinism of the governor Ramírez Coins, who has not wasted a moment in exercising his hatred against the inhabitants of the Federal District (D.F.) and the students of UNAM.
“Here in Jalisco, we are not going to allow any chilango to come and bring disorder,” he noted Saturday when he looked over the zone into the center of this city where the clashes between altermundistas (“another-world-ists”) and grenadiers took place. “Here we are against the vandals of UNAM,” he affirmed in an interview. “This is not the Zócalo of Mexico City, where they put up tents to camp and stay indefinitely,” he explained yesterday (Monday) to the grenadiers that assembled in the Plaza del Sol, to pay homage for the brutality they exhibited against the young men and women.
As if their words were a slogan, the vast majority of the local radio stations and televisions repeat day and night that speech of fear against the chilangos. But upon seeing the governor, so “strong,” so obsessed with “defending” the local “wealth,” one cannot help but remember that political leaders of that nature, with such lamentable conceptions, were such that in the ex-Yugoslavia ended up causing frightful wars of ethnic cleansing, in which tens of thousands of persons perished, whose only “crime” was not being of the same origin as their enemies.
Inspired by this line, the judges who processed the arrested boys on Friday—many of them even though they were in the place of the acts, and were caught up in the police round up by an ordinance of discretion—have established two types of freedom on bail, even though there exists constitutional norms that determine it. The serious problem for the prisoners is that, should they manage to acquire the money necessary to leave the penitentiary, they will have to return to Guadalajara every eight days to sign the book of criminals.
Mexican legislation stipulates, however, that persons should be allowed to return to the cities where they live to continue the process there, who, given their economic condition, simply are unable to pay the costs of continuous travels, lodging and food. Perhaps for that reason, in this form of selective punishment against the fuereños, there may exist the perverse desire to prevent them from leaving penitentiary.
“There are many factors that the judges must take into account,” lawyer González Razo explains. “One very important thing is that the boys are primodelincuentes (first offenders), that is, they have never been in this situation before. Another thing that has to be seen is the type of studies they are taking, if they are in school, if they are working, if they contribute to the support of their families, etc. In addition, we do not forget that the fine is not paid in total, the percentage depends on the company guaranteeing that contract.”
The economic sanctions abounding are of two classes. “One is the payment of the fine and the other is the reparation of the damages that the affected parties demand for the disturbances,” he explained. “So, we see that the boys here, from Jalisco, pay an individual fine of 25 thousand pesos, plus an additional fee of up 187 thousand pesos in certain cases, but that amount is divided by the number of boys that are under the same file. That is, if they put to you a fine of 25 thousand pesos, you will pay only 2,500 or 3,000 plus another 27 thousand for the reparation of damages,” he illustrated.
Be that as it may, the families and organizations who endorse the political prisoners of Puente Grande will have to come up with nearly 250 thousand pesos, which is quite a lot of money. Nevertheless, there are two files, 344/04-B and 365/04-B, both of the 9th court, in which González Razo says, “Besides throwing on top all of the Penal Code, there are those accused of aggravated robbery, and as that is a serious crime, there is no fine.”
Under this accusation there are Eduardo Carvajal Avila, Aarón García García, Juan Carlos Ortega Castellanos, Felipe de Jesús Landeros, Jaime Daniel Vázquez Valdivia (who is mute and will have to defend himself by writing his plea of own hand), Ricardo Zaleta Colmenero, Jearin Fernández Sagredo (who was selling books by doctor Raúl Rojas Soriano, and is accused of “stealing” his own merchandise), Norberto Ulloa Martínez, Juan Carlos Flores González, Juan Manuel Barrios González, José Cruz Luján Sánchez, Francisco Felipe García, Francisco Berenice Vázquez and José Luis Alejo Vázquez.
Professor of law at the University of Guadalajara, member of ANAD and defender of Liliana Galaviz López, the lawyer Napoleón Díaz Medina affirms that his clients displays tracks of injuries upon her head, on her back, and on the backs of her legs, because she was taking photos when the grenadiers attacked her from behind. However, they accuse her of having “proven wounds,” as if she were the aggressor. “The judge will have to consider that if she had attacked the police the bruises would have been on the front part of the body. She should remain free in the end to the final mark of the law,” he asserted.
That is still to be seen. As Liliana is from Monterrey, perhaps she will suffer, consequently, the fury of the ethnic cleansing undertaken blindly by the PAN-ist Ramírez Acuña and secondly, by the communications media of Jalisco. |
See also:
http://newswire.indymedia.org/en/newswire/2004/06/803992.shtml
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Support the arrested and disappeared in Guadalajara Now! |
by artists against humanitarian repression
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
03 Jun 2004
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Ways to support the arrested and disappeared in Guadalajara now!
Donate, write, act, complain. Details of how, plus details of Guadalajara issues.
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Support the arrested and disappeared in Guadalajara Now!
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Donate to the legal support of those arrested and
disappeared during the GUADALAJARA mobilization:
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http://guadalajara.mediosindependientes.org/
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Write letters of support (see address below)
>
CALL TO ACTION:
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In Guadalajara, Mexico, violent repression and
torture is occurring during protests of the meeting of Latin America and the
Caribbean and the European Union May 26-29th. Activists are protesting the
meetings of an exclusive group of heads of state who do not represent needs
of their communities, who are signing agreements that will increase poverty
and exploit resources and labor.
>
Police harassment and brutality has been rampant during the protests. On May
27, after a camp where out-of-town protesters were staying, was surrounded
by police and no one was allowed to enter or exit for five hours. The
following day, Friday, May 28th, serious confrontation broke out during the
main march of the conference. The police unnecessarily attacked protesters
with tear gas, pepper spray and physical aggression. After standing their
ground for over an hour, protesters were forced to flee the area. The majority of arrests were made after the confrontation had ended,as protesters attempted to reach a safe place.
>
Over 100 activists and bystanders have disappeared. Protesters are being
held in 5 different jails and 2 different hospitals and the authorities have
refused to release their names . Witnesses in the jails have reported
torture inside the jail. Women have been forced to strip naked, and men have
been brutally beaten while handcuffed on the ground. Nine of the people
being held are foreigners, one of them severely injured. Her physical
condition is unknown and no visitors, including lawyers, have been allowed
to visit any detainees.
>
Authorities have claimed that they will release most prisoners on two
conditions: out-of-town protesters must leave immediately, and all damaged
property must be paid for. The current situation at 9:00 pm, Saturday night:
ten people have been let out, a list of names has finally been released, 43
of which will remain in jail on charges, and eight foreigners are about to
be deported.
>
OUR DEMANDS:
1)Unconditional freedom for all the politicaldetainees
2)Drop all charges
3)No more harassment, torture, beatings or arrests
4)Proper medical treatment for injured detainees
5)Safe passage home for all activists
>
WE CALL FOR ACTIONS OF SOLIDARITY
1)phone calls to the Mexican embassy and consulates
2)donations for legal fees
http://guadalajara.mediosindependientes.org
3)flyering in your community and at Mexican consulates
4)creative actions of all kinds to pressure the Mexican government
>
INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE MAKES A DIFFERENCE
The Mexican Consulate is your area can be found at
http://www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm or call the
Mexican Embassy (202) 728 1600
>
SEE LINK FOR FLYER:
>
http://guadalajara.mediosindependientes.org/usermedia/image/4/large/flyer.jpg |
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