April 1, 2008

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico. In Chiapas, Mexico at least 23 prisoners in three different prisons are undertaking a hunger strike to demand their unconditional freedom. Many have already been striking for over 35 days, experiencing weakness, dizziness, nosebleeds, poor vision, and blood in the urine. Some have lost up to 37 pounds. They have been drinking only water and honey, however some of them now vomit when they attempt to drink the honey. They are determined to strike until either they are free, or they are dead. Another 11 prisoners are fasting and praying instead of hunger striking, due to health problems and/or old age.

They all claim to be innocent and arrested for political reasons. All the hunger strikers are indigenous people, most of whom are activists involved in various groups striving for social change, such as the Zapatista Other Campaign, the Independent Agricultural Worker and Campesino Center (CIOAC in its Spanish initials), and the Pueblo Creyente (an organized group of Catholics, mostly indigenous, who promote social justice).

Documentation from the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Human Rights Center (Frayba) and interviews with family members reveal the stories behind their loved ones’ cases. The prisoners were repeatedly denied their human rights guaranteed by Mexican law. They were often arrested in house raids without being shown an arrest warrant or being informed as to what the charges were. They were not provided with a lawyer or a translator as federal law requires, since many of them speak their native tongue and do not speak fluent Spanish. For example, Frayba documents that when Antonio Díaz Ruiz, Antonio Gómez Díaz, and Miguel Gómez Gómez were detained, they were not allowed access to a lawyer or a translator. They were interrogated based on anonymous accusations without the opportunity to defend themselves against said accusers. Frayba also documents that they were tortured, beaten, and forced to sign confession statements that they were not able to read.

Zacario Hernández, a former prisoner who was on hunger strike for 35 days before being released, stated that he, his brother Enrique Hernández, and his friend Pascual Heredia Hernández were “savagely tortured and threatened with death.” He explains that they were pressured to sign papers without knowing what the papers said.

Enrique and Pascual were just released this past Monday, along with eight other prisoners who were participating in the hunger strike and fast. It is rumored that others will also be freed, but this is not confirmed. One prisoner on hunger strike, José Pérez Pérez, was released but then re-incarcerated because authorities “confused him.” The Chiapas government recently ordered the liberation of 137 prisoners in all, some of which include those on hunger strike, but which also may include members of paramilitary groups that have terrorized Zapatista communities and other indigenous communities working for social change.

Public pressure and protests have played a key factor in winning the release of some of the hunger strikers, but other political prisoners still remain, continuing their hunger strike and fasting. Despite evidence and denouncements showing that the prisoners’ rights have been violated, that accusations have been fabricated, and that proof of guilt is highly questionable, they continue waiting in prison indefinitely.

In public interviews family members have explained the hardships they face, as many mothers have been raising their children as their spouses wait in prison for years. Many of the prisoners have already been incarcerated for five years or more. The families also face the very real possibility of the deaths of their loved ones if the government doesn’t act. Family members denounced that prison officials have not allowed them to visit the prisoners during this crucial time, and that government doctors have harassed and pressured the prisoners to break their strike. Thus, the prisoners have refused any further medical revision. The families attempted to bring a trusted doctor to revise the prisoners, but prison officials would not allow the doctor to pass through.

Since some prisoners are entering their sixth week without eating, their situation is extremely grave. A doctor trusted by the families stated that it is probable that with the continuation of their strike, some will die toward the end of this week. Thus, the families say it is urgent that the Chiapas government act now to liberate their husbands, sons, and fathers.

The United States government is currently considering Plan Mexico, a $1.4 billion package to aid Mexico’s law enforcement to presumably fight drugs. It’s advisable that the U.S. Congress seriously question the validity of such aid to a law enforcement system that clearly demonstrates deep corruption, impunity in the face of human rights abuses, and incompetence.

If you are a U.S. citizen, please write to your U.S. Congress members to inform them of the hunger strike and urge them to block Plan Mexico. Please write to Mexican officials and demand the unconditional and immediate freedom of the political prisoners on hunger strike. Let them know that the world is watching, and that human rights are a concern both inside and outside of Mexico.

Sources:

frayba.org.mx
chiapas.indymedia.org

Bellinghausen, Hermann. “Liberan a 137 indígenas internos en cárceles de Chiapas.” La Jornada. March 31, 2008. www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2008/03/31/reportan-la-liberacion-de-11-indigenas-chiapanecos-en-huelga-de-hambre/

Videos in Spanish of testimonies from the families:

Testimonios de los Familiares de los Presos Políticos 1
mx.youtube.com/watch

Testimonios de los Familiares de los Presos Políticos 2
mx.youtube.com/watch

Ayuno para los Presos Políticos en Huelga de Hambre
www.youtube.com/watch

Sample letter:

Dear ______,

I urge you to assure the immediate and unconditional liberty of all the political prisoners who are on hunger strike and who are fasting in Prisons 5, 14, and 17 in Chiapas, Mexico.

The Chiapas government arrested them unjustly without serving arrest warrants, and without recognizing their rights to a lawyer, a translator, and fair humane treatment. They have been tortured, beaten, and pressured to sign confessions that they couldn’t read and that they don’t agree with.

Now they have resorted to a hunger strike to draw attention to their plight. They are prepared to face the ultimate consequence of death, or be liberated. This is a brave statement of their innocence, and a bold protest against the severe human rights violations they have faced from the government of Chiapas.

Human rights issues are a concern all over the world, and that’s why I am writing you as a foreign citizen to your country. It’s vital that we stand up for justice all over the world, and I hope you see to it that these political prisoners are freed immediately.

Respectfully Yours,

__________

Send to:

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de la República
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, México
(55) 27891100 (55) 52772376
Correo-electrónico: felipe.calderon (at) presidencia.gob.mx

Lic. Juan José Sabines Guerrero
Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Chiapas
Palacio de Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas
Av. Central y Primera Oriente, Colonia Centro, C.P. 29009
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
Correo-electrónico: secparticular (at) chiapas.gob.mx
Fax: +52 961 61 88088 – + 52 961 6188056

Lic. Amador Rodríguez Lozano
Ministro de Justicia del Estado de Chiapas
Libramiento norte oriente y Rosa de Oriente #2010, Col. El Bosque, C.P. 29049
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, México
Fax: + 52 (961) 6-17-23-00
Correo-electrónico: arodriguez (at) mje.chiapas.gob.mx

Please send a copy to:

Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas A.C.
Brasil No. 14 Barrio Mexicanos, CP. 29240, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, México
Telefax: +52 (967) 678 35 48, 678 35 51, 678 73 96

Correo electrónico: medios (at) frayba.org.mx