MEXICO - prisoners' appeal denied
25/01/05 - Victims of political disputes between government and Zapatistas, remain in prison despite lack of any proof.
Twenty-four Mexican prisoners, charged with homicide in the 1997 Acteal massacre case in southern Mexico, had their collective appeal denied by a three-judge panel on 30 November 2005, confirming their sentence of 36 years and three months.
Sixteen of these Tzotzil Indian prisoners are Christians from a rural village in Chiapas, in the South East of Mexico, an area which continues to see enormous discrimination, injustice and persecution against evangelical Christians.
Of the current total of 76 men imprisoned since December 1997, about 50 are now Christians.
In early December 2005, an Open Doors team went to visit the prisoners. Hector Tamez, Open Doors International Minister-at-Large, said it was a very sad moment when some of the prisoners heard that their appeal had been denied and that they face a further 28 years in prison, separated from their wives and children, for crimes they did not commit.
He continued, “Some were crying, but one of them stood up and said, ‘We are here because God has a purpose for us. We know we are innocent, but God keeps telling us, "No, you cannot go out." So let’s shine for Christ in the darkness we are living in,’” reported Hector. “That was a fantastic moment.”
The prisoners said they are being treated better in prison than they were, because of the visibility of their case. Their wives and families visit them three or four times a year, and Open Doors pays the transportation costs.
Open Doors is urging Christians to continue writing to the prisoners and their families, to let them know they are cared for and that people are praying for them. In particular, prayer is required for three more penal cases currently being processed, for 52 more prisoners who are appealing 36-year sentences.
Mexico City attorney Hugo Eric Flores was in America, completing his doctorate at Harvard Law School, when he learned of the Acteal tragedy:
“The men are victims of political disputes between the government and the Zapatistas in the area,” Flores said. What occurred in Acteal on 22 December 1997 was a confrontation between rival groups, incited by many previous incidents.
"We don’t approve of massacres and murders but neither do we approve of incarcerating people who are absolutely innocent.”
Convinced that government apathy, political corruption and judicial error have combined to create a second tragedy as appalling as the first, he wrote a 150-page report researching the incident. As legal adviser to Mexico's former president, Ernesto Zedillo, he presented him with his research. When this failed to convince President Zedillo to order a judicial review, he published his findings in a book, ‘El Otro Camino a Acteal’ (The Other Road to Acteal).
In it, he explains that the tragic massacre was the result of ideological and political differences between Zapatista liberation army members and local farmers opposed to the Zapatista occupation in Chenalho. Following the murder of one of these farmers, an armed confrontation broke out between the two groups at a Catholic hermitage where around 300 people were collecting clothing being distributed by the Red Cross. In the resulting chaos and crossfire, 45 indigenous Tzotzil Indians, 39 of whom were women and children, were killed.
Five men from the farming community have admitted their involvement and named four others who were involved but who have never been arrested and are currently under Zapatista protection, having apparently changed sides.
Despite this, 82 further people were unjustly arrested and imprisoned, including 34 evangelical believers from the Chenalho community. Six were acquitted and another died in prison, so the current number of detainees held in this federal case is 76.
In prison, several have become believers, bringing the total of evangelical believers to about 50.
In spite of a very weak initial investigation, many documented abuses of due process and the fact that no valid legal proof was presented to warrant their arrests, the original defence and subsequent appeal of the Evangelicals has been unsuccessful.
On 2 July 2004, all the prisoners from Cerro Hueco jail in Tuxtla Gutierrez were moved to the new El Amate high-security prison in Cintalapa, Chiapas, a further two hours' drive away. As a result, the families are now five hours' journey away from their husbands, brothers and fathers.
The current attorney for the defence, who wishes not to be named due to death threats he has received, states: “I continue to believe in the innocence of these men. I do not know who was responsible for the brutal and senseless murders in Acteal, but I know it was not these defendants. Justice is not served by holding them liable for what so much evidence shows they didn’t do.”
Eddie Lyle, Chief Executive of Open Doors UK, urges Christians to keep praying: “Please continue to pray that despite the continuing unjust imprisonment of these Mexican prisoners, that as the apostle Paul described in Philippians 2, it will all ‘serve to advance the Gospel’, and pray that the families will stay strong in their faith.
"Please also pray for the remaining appeals currently being processed.”
To write to the families of the Christian prisoners, call Open Doors UK & Ireland on 01993 885400, email info@opendoorsuk.org or visit their website at www.opendoorsuk.org.
Ends. 798 words.
Available photos:
• Prisoners praying
• Prisoners sit on the ground watched by chief guard
• Prisoners sing in worship
• Prisoners are visited by Open Doors teams
• Ladies receive food from Open Doors
• Young girls will be middle-aged before they see their fathers X3
• Young boys are growing up without any male role models
• Wives struggle to keep and bring up families since all the men in their village were imprisoned.
Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by:
1. Training church leaders and Christian workers
2. Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School and pastoral training materials and other Christian literature
3. Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
4. Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
5. Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the Western world.
For other articles/press releases about the Persecuted Church, go to:
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/releases/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/world_watch_list_pics/html/index.htm
Check out our Recent Reports on persecution from around the world. They are updated several times a week, to keep you ‘in the know’: http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/news/news_recent.php