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 Editorials | At Issue | October 2006 
Mexico Hid Police Rapes of Protesters: Amnesty
 Reuters
| | The rights group interviewed women who say they were abused when they were arrested after disturbances in San Salvador Atenco in early May. |
Police who beat, sexually abused and raped women arrested after riots in a rebellious town near Mexico City have not been punished and authorities hid what happened, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
The rights group interviewed women who say they were abused when they were arrested after disturbances in San Salvador Atenco in early May.
Amnesty wants federal justice officials to take over the investigation, saying state authorities have ignored the claims, and in some cases covered up evidence.
"These crimes are acts of torture under international law and the authorities must ensure that those responsible are held to account," said Kerrie Howard, deputy directory of Amnesty's Americas Program.
"It is high time for the federal prosecutor on crimes against women to take over," he said.
Mexico has a long history of police brutality and impunity for rights crimes.
President Vicente Fox vowed to clean up Mexico's rights record when his rise to power in 2000 ended 71 years of one party rule, but was criticized in a recent report by Human Rights Watch for not fulfilling that promise.
In the San Salvador Atenco case, the women were arrested after a police attempt to evict flower sellers got out of hand and ended with hundreds of protesters fighting police.
Two protesters were killed and several police were beaten or taken hostage.
The worst violence happened when police stormed the town the next day, Amnesty said. Police arrested more than 200 people, severely beating many of them.
The women allege they were punched and kicked and had their sexual organs grabbed in trucks taking them to prison. Some said they were raped or forced to have oral sex with agents.
State of Mexico Gov. Enrique Pena has said the abuse claims were a tactic by "subversive groups" to discredit his government. Investigations could not take place until official complaints were filed, he said.
Amnesty said the state government first prevented the women from giving evidence, either through intimidation or by refusing to record what happened, and has since failed investigate the complaints.
One woman told Amnesty an official in prison ripped the paper from his typewriter when she started talking about rape. |
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