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Editorial Nadia Zepeda: One of the Many Victims of the Mexican Justice System

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Editorial Nadia Zepeda: One of the Many Victims of the Mexican Justice System Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Centre, A.C. Quarterly Bulletin, Issue 23, Summer 2005 Nadias new life In This Issue As explained in the article in this issue of Focus, Nadia Zepeda was freed on August 25 2005, after nearly three years of unjust imprisonment. Immediately after her release, Nadia faced a lack of 1.- Nadia Zepeda: One of the Many Victims support from the authorities for her re- of the Mexican Justice System incorporation into society and prejudice by those members of society who doubt Nadias case exposes the inequality and disadvantages her claims of innocence. often experienced by Mexican women when facing the justice system. Furthermore, while she was recently When the legal notification of her release freed, there are still many pending issues in her case. page 2 was issued, Nadia was immediately removed from the prison. She barely had 2.- Forced Disappearance in Mexico: The Case of Alicia De los Ríos Merino and her Daughter time to pick up her belongings and did not even have the opportunity to call her Alicia De los Ríos Merino and her newborn daughter family to inform them of her release. disappeared in 1978. Their whereabouts have yet to be According to the prison authorities, clarified by the Mexican government which has repeatedly subsequent to Nadias release, they are Nadia Zepeda Molina on the day she was freed, August 25, 2005 shown a lack of will to comply with its human rights only responsible for supervising her Photo: Centre Prodh Archive / Tania Gómez obligations on the issue of the forced disappearance of during her parole period. persons. page 4 explaining that she had received 3.- Is Mexico Safer Now? The Implementation As Nadia unexpectedly found herself psychological help, which is why she of the Safe Mexico Security Operation outside of the prison, she called a close was so calm; that she believed that many friend who picked her up and people in prison are innocent because Although the Safe Mexico operation has been put into immediately took her home. Upon the there are often flaws in the system, and action, the levels of violence primarily linked to drug news of her release, a public that what she was looking for was justice, trafficking have peaked over the last few months, and demonstration in the context of the not revenge. claims of serious human rights violations linked to this Centre Prodhs campaign Justice for operation have been present. page 6 Nadia, which was to take place that Nadia is determined to continue her very day, was cancelled and a press struggle until obtaining full justice, but 4. After Ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, conference was held which was attended in the eyes of many, Nadia is still a Many Issues Remain Pending by the national and international media criminal. This cultural context will not and, of course, by Nadia herself. contribute to her reintegration to society, While Mexicos ratification of the Optional Protocol was nor is the legal system designed to do a positive step forward, it is of utmost importance that In the days following her release, Nadia so. Nadia will surely receive her familys the Mexican government, which prompted its adoption, was interviewed several times and in at support and be accompanied by the now ensures that the composition of the National least one of these interviews some of the Centre Prodh in her struggle, but there Preventive Mechanism is done transparently and with prejudice that she will face in the future is an unsolved issue which is that there participation from civil society. page 7 was evident. The interviewer asked are many women in a similar situation 5.- Different International Human Rights Nadia to explain her case, which she did who do not receive this help. Unless Organisations Visit Mexico in a calm manner. The interviewer then there is a radical change in the structure told her, in a sarcastic and inquisitorial of the legal system, cases like Nadias Upon their visits to Mexico, representatives from the manner: you say this as if nothing has will be a constant. We hope that our UN, the IACHR and Amnesty International emphasised happened and added, you claim to be campaign Justice for Nadia will raise that in spite of the Mexican governments willingness innocent but everyone in prison claims awareness of the human rights violations to promote human rights internationally, much still needs to be, why are you any different? Then that occur in the context of hard-line to be done at the national level. page 8 he asked Nadia what is it that you are security policies. However, these are looking for by opening up an issues that can only be truly solved Editorial by investigation against the police officers a governmental policy designed and you claim raped you? Revenge? Nadia applied according to the States human replied to his comments and questions, rights obligations. Nadia Zepeda: One of the many victims of the Mexican justice system Nadias story The Sagitorio group and other special security to begin the national and international campaign forces were created in order to restore the Justice for Nadia. This campaign has been governments political image of inefficiency at supported by different national and international tackling violence within Mexico City. The human rights organisations and it aims to deployment of these forces has paradoxically understand justice as an integral process in which facilitated corruption and the abuse of power by Nadia would be freed, declared innocent by the the police officers in charge. system, receive an appropriate reparation and in which those responsible would be prosecuted The Centre Prodhs campaign of a and sanctioned by the State. paradigmatic case womens prison womens First, the campaign is focused on the discourse From the Centre Prodhs point of view, Nadias regarding the human rights of women and it aims detention is a paradigmatic case, as it is to demonstrate the consequences of structural representative of many of the human rights violence and discrimination against women in Santa Martha violations that are common in Mexico, such as Mexico. Such structural violence places women violations of the right to due process, the right in a more vulnerable position than men within to physical integrity, the right not to be the legal system. The importance of this analysis discriminated against and others. These violations resides in the fact that human rights violations are particularly common during the police against women encompass certain characteristics operations implemented by the Ministry of Public that are different from mens. These Security of the Federal District ever since Rudolf characteristics are rooted in the gender in Mexico City, June 2005 in Mexico City, Gómez Archive / Tania Centre Prodh Photo: Nadia Zepeda Molina in Guilianis recommendations on public security construction, the social roles and stereotypes Nadia Ernestina Zepeda Molina was arbitrarily were issued in 2001 (La Jornada, Masiosare, that society has historically given to women and detained on January 23, 2003 while walking August 14, 2005). As a result of these men. The case of Nadia demonstrates that the down the street with her former boyfriend and recommendations, this and other special groups position of women within the system is unequal a mutual friend in the Agricola Oriental and forces were created in order to combat small- to that of men, as women are culturally neighbourhood in Mexico City. Nadia and her scale drug dealing. During these operations, subordinated to men in the patriarchal structure. friends were detained without an arrest warrant women have been placed in a more vulnerable Therefore, a specific gender approach to this for more than two hours by police officers that position than men, as the Human Rights type of violations is needed, in which violence belong to the today extinct special security group Commission of the Federal District (Comisión against women as a form of discrimination is Sagitario. During the time of her detention, de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal) the central part of the problem. Nadia was tortured physically and highlighted in its recommendation 06/2004, psychologically. Furthermore, Nadia was raped which indicated that more than 70 victims, In this sense, we believe that the Mexican and sexually abused by the police who also including women, have declared being victims government has failed to protect not only the threatened to collectively rape her. Before her of abuses similar to Nadias during citizens civil and political rights but also to detention, Nadia was a normal high school their detention. fulfil its obligations contained in the UN student, the daughter of a working mother who Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of lived a standard life. The Centre Prodh considers Nadias case to be Discrimination against Women -that defines part of a larger pattern of human rights violations discrimination against women (art. 1)- and in Nadia Zepeda faced a criminal process rife with in Mexico. Because of this, the Centre decided the Inter-American Convention on the irregularities, amongst them the absence of the presumption of innocence, as she was presented to the media as a delinquent before she was found guilty by a judicial authority and she was held incommunicado for two days. Additionally, no authorised or timely medical care was provided to deal with the many injuries that the police officers caused her during the time of her detention, including the sexual attack. Furthermore, she was forced by the officials to accept that her injuries were old injuries not caused by her detention. Subsequently, Nadia was charged with selling drugs and was condemned to a five-year prison sentence. The Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Centre (Centre Prodh), assumed Nadias defence in July 2004.
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