»Fast vollständige Straflosigkeit für die Täter und Angst in der Bevölkerung«

 “Torture is out of control in Mexico and it doesn’t only affect the person suffering it, it hurts society as a whole.”

- Bárbara Italia Méndez, torture survivor, San Salvador Atenco, State of Mexico, Amnesty International interview, April 2014

Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment play a central role in policing and public security operations by military and police forces across Mexico. These practices are widespread and are frequently condoned, tolerated or ignored by other law enforcement officials, superior officers, prosecutors, judges and some human rights commissions. The result is almost total impunity for abusers and a real fear among the population that arrest for any reason is likely to result in torture. In a recent survey for Amnesty International on attitudes to torture, 64 per cent of Mexicans polled feared suffering torture if taken into custody.[1]

Torture is “any act intentionally performed whereby physical or mental pain or suffering is inflicted on a person for purposes of criminal investigation, as a means of intimidation, as personal punishment, as a preventive measure, as a penalty, or for any other purpose. Torture shall also be understood to be the use of methods upon a person intended to obliterate the personality of the victim or to diminish his physical or mental capacities, even if they do not cause physical pain or mental anguish”.[2] Public officials who inflict, instigate, consent or acquiesce to these acts are guilty of torture and other ill-treatment. The authorities are legally bound to hold them to account, along with any private individuals who have inflicted torture at the instigation of a public official.

For too long, the political, judicial and administrative authorities have downplayed the widespread use of torture and other ill-treatment. Gravely flawed investigations by prosecutors, disciplinary bodies and human rights commissions, which routinely under-report or dismiss well-founded claims, have enabled many authorities to argue that torture is a far less serious problem than is in fact the case. Despite a recent visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment confirming the widespread use of torture and the need for action, the government has remained largely silent on the issue.

A lack of clear political leadership and real political will by successive governments has allowed officials and institutions to ignore their responsibilities to take decisive action whenever allegations of torture and other ill-treatment come to light. Since 2003, Mexico has committed to implement an adapted form of the Istanbul Protocol, an internationally recognized standard for the effective investigation and documentation of torture and other illtreatment.[3]

However, as this report demonstrates, in most cases of suspected torture and illtreatment this “Specialized Medical/Psychological Evaluation in possible cases of torture and/or ill-treatment” (hereafter referred to as the PGR Special Procedure) is not applied and in those cases where it is performed, it frequently falls short of the standard established in the Istanbul Protocol.

Nevertheless, there has been some progress in recent years. Legal reforms in 2011 incorporated international human rights law into Mexico’s Constitution. Judgements by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been at least partially implemented. For example, there have been reforms to the Code of Military Justice and the National Supreme Court recently issued a judgement reinforcing the obligation to exclude evidence obtained under torture. The establishment of a National Commission for Victims, if effective, also potentially offers some support for victims in obtaining redress. The Federal Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de la República, PGR) has also reported an increased number of investigations of allegations of torture, although this has not as yet resulted in significant numbers of prosecutions or convictions.

This report seeks to document the widespread pattern of torture and other ill-treatment by means of illustrative cases. It demonstrates the institutional failings that permit torture and routinely ineffective official investigations. Amnesty International makes a series of concrete recommendations to the Mexican authorities to address the situation urgently in order to eradicate torture and other ill-treatment and hold perpetrators to account, including those that fail to act to prevent torture when they could do so.

Amnesty International’s campaign on torture and other ill-treatment in Mexico is part of “Stop Torture”, a global campaign to combat torture around the world.

Summary Findings

The widespread use of torture continues to be tolerated by authorities, despite Mexico’s relatively strong legislation to prevent and punish torture and other ill-treatment.

The large-scale deployment of the army and navy marines in recent years to combat organized crime has been a key factor in the increased use of torture.

Reports of torture and other ill-treatment increased as violence spiralled in Mexico after 2006, as a result of the government’s “war on drugs”. Even if recent reports of a decline by the CNDH are correct, torture and other ill-treatment remain widespread – 600 per cent higher in 2013 compared to 2003.[4]

The justice system is unable or unwilling to prevent torture; key anti-torture safeguards area rarely upheld.

Arbitrary detentions and the fabrication of evidence are often closely connected to the use of torture and other ill-treatment.

A number of different torture techniques are reported consistently from different parts of the country. These include the use of near-asphyxiation, beatings, sexual violence, death threats and electric shocks.

Torture is often used to obtain “confessions” and testimonies which serve as evidence to prosecute people who may or may not have been involved in a crime. This results in unfair trials and unsafe convictions, with many innocent people behind bars and criminals in the street. Society distrusts the justice system and the victims and their families’ lives are destroyed.

Mechanisms to hold those responsible to account are ineffective and fail to deter perpetrators or provide redress to victims.

The lack of independent, impartial and thorough investigations into allegations of torture place an impossible burden on victims to prove they were tortured.

The report concludes with a set of comprehensive of recommendations to the Mexican authorities and human rights commissions to effectively prevent and punish torture and other ill-treatment.

Key Recommendations

1. Ensure detentions are only carried out in strict accordance with the law. All detentions should be immediately and accurately recorded on national database accessible to defence lawyers and relatives. Allegations of unlawful arrests should be fully investigated.

2. End the role of the Armed Forces in performing policing functions, including detentions, investigations and interrogations, for which they are not trained or accountable.

3. Abolish pre-charge detention (arraigo), both at the federal and local level.

4. Ensure detainees have access to legal counsel, including the opportunity to access a private lawyer of their choice, from the moment of detention.

5. Reform procedures for initial medical examinations of detainees to guaranteeing confidentiality, consent, thoroughness and impartiality. All signs of possible torture and other ill-treatment should be recorded and photographed by the examining doctor. These medical reports should be immediately available to detainees and their lawyers.

6. Immediately launch a prompt, independent, impartial and exhaustive investigation into any allegation of torture and other ill-treatment, ensuring the enquiry is not solely based on the medical examination of the PGR Special Procedure, but also gathers other evidence, including from the crime scene, witnesses, victims, accused, superior officers, human rights commissions, as well as other related cases of alleged torture.

7. Ensure prompt, impartial and proactive investigation and prosecution by the civilian judicial authorities of members of the Armed Forces implicated in any human rights violations, guaranteeing at all times the full and open cooperation of military authorities.

8. Reform the application of the PGR Special Procedure (“Specialized medical/psychological evaluation”) to bring it into line with the Istanbul Protocol and recommendations proposed by Amnesty International. Immediately apply the Istanbul Protocol to alleged victims and provide copies of the resulting medical legal report to victims and their legal representatives.

9. Ensure that independent medical experts, including international experts and representatives of human rights commissions, can examine detainees at the earliest opportunity, and that their medical legal evaluations are considered as evidence by prosecutors and judges.

10. Ensure those responsible for torture and other ill-treatment, including direct perpetrators and officials who failed to prevent or report incidents, are prosecuted in line with international human rights law.

11. Exclude any evidence against criminal suspects where there is reasonable grounds to believe that it has been obtained as a result of human rights violations, such as arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment. Ensure the burden of proof rests with police and prosecutors to demonstrate that statements have been rendered without coercion and do not result from other human rights violations;

12. Establish a special judicial review mechanism to consider individually all cases where there is reasonable evidence that prosecution and/or conviction was secured on the basis of evidence obtained as a result of human rights violations such as unlawful detention and torture.

13. Adopt and implement legislation to strengthen the enforceable right to reparation for victims of torture and other ill-treatment, including where there is not a criminal conviction against individual perpetrators.

14. Reform and strengthen CNDH and CEDH procedures relating to the receipt of complaints of torture and ill-treatment in order that each case is immediately and fully investigated in line with the standards established in the UN Convention against Torture and the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.

Amnesty International considers that its recommendations to the government provide a template for effective action to end the widespread practice of torture and other ill-treatment in Mexico. The government has made general commitments to uphold international human rights standards, but has yet to take decisive steps to meet these obligations. With political will and determination, Amnesty International believes that the Mexican government can implement the changes necessary to end the use of torture and other ill-treatment. It is time to make this a reality.