Agents Rey David Cortes Flores and Ismael Matadama Salinas left the prison in Chilpancingo, the state capital, Tuesday afternoon after the judge granted an amparo [order of protection, i.e. appeal] and instructed their release within a period not exceeding three days.
According to the judge's findings, the two testimonies directly accusing the officers of having fired against the student teachers Jorge Alexis Herrera Pino and Gabriel de Jesus Echeverria were not sufficient evidence to justify their detention.
The judge also concluded that
"in the samples taken from both their hands, (the police) did not identify elements of barium and lead, a fact that creates a presumption that the accused did not take shots using weapons they had in their power."One of the two witnesses who pointed out both agents has not appeared in many of the hearings to confirm his testimony, according to sources close to the case.
The Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, which is legally representing the families of the two students, lamented the release of the only two suspects in the crime.
"Following this decision, no state or federal public servant now faces criminal prosecution for serious human rights violations committed against the students.
"The exoneration of the accused policemen proves that there is no justice possible in Guerrero for victims of gross violations of human rights and that the agencies for the administration and enforcement of justice ensure that those who commit crimes will have impunity from those in power," said the organization.The murder of the two young students happened during the clearing of the Highway of the Sun - that connects Mexico City to Acapulco- where the normal school studens were demonstrating on December 12, 2011. In the operation, agents from both the Federal Police and Guerrero state police participated.
Following an investigation by the National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) last March, it determined that the former state attorney general and the former director of the Ministerial [investigative] Police of Guerrero had responsibility, and issued 30 recommendations to the state government. [MV Note: Both were fired by the governor the day after the shootings. Charges were brought against the ex-attorney general, but he has not be detained or tried.]
"The CNDH concluded, based on their own expert work, that the firearm projectiles which had deprived the students of life were shot by members of the Ministerial Police of Guerrero located where those who were released today were located," says the Tlachinollan statement.The families of the two young people killed will go to international bodies to follow up the case, according to Tlachinollan attorney Roman Hernandez. The attorney explained that the complaints by the families of Jorge Alexis and Gabriel will be filed with the UN Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, who [is presently in Mexico and] will cover some parts of Guerrero, as well at with the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission. Spanish original