Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas - Leonel Rivero Rodríguez, defense attorney for imprisoned teacher Alberto Patishtán Gómez, affirmed that the defense will not request a presidential pardon in the event that the Appellate Court, seated in this capital, might deny his release.
"There is the possibility of a pardon because according to the Constitution, the Federal Executive is empowered to grant this benefit, but it is a decision that ultimately will rest with the federal government itself," he said.
Rivero Rodríguez explained that, in any case, the verdict from the Appeals Court must first be handed down. However, he insisted that
"we are confident that he will be released by this court, because we are right," that already "there are so many irregularities in the process, although these can no longer be challenged because it is res judicata [case already decided]; what we are offering are new documents that destroy the evidence on which the sentence was pronounced."
Alberto Patishtán is accused of the crimes of homicide and assault, property damages and possession of a firearm for exclusive use by the armed forces, for his alleged participation in an ambush in 2000 on the El Bosque-Simojovel road in which six state troopers and one municipal official died. For these alleged crimes, Patishtán was sentenced to sixty years in prison.
Interviewed at the end of the pilgrimage of several thousand Catholics in the Diocese of San Cristóbal held in this city on Friday, Rivero Rodríguez added that two days ago the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) informed him that the file relating to the case will be sent to the Appellate Court in two weeks for its study and analysis.
Interviewed at the end of the pilgrimage of several thousand Catholics in the Diocese of San Cristóbal held in this city on Friday, Rivero Rodríguez added that two days ago the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) informed him that the file relating to the case will be sent to the Appellate Court in two weeks for its study and analysis.
The lawyer commented that Friday's pilgrimage was
"a demonstration full of symbolism and spirituality, which is a very clear message to the judges of the First Appellate Court in the sense that the court record must be discussed with due caution and thoroughness."In Rivero Rodríguez's opinion, the case of the teacher from the municipality of El Bosque, located in northern Chiapas,
"is the most emblematic in recent years in Mexico regarding the defense of rights and of due process."
Rivero Rodríguez declared that
"legally the only thing we are waiting is that the Appellate Court resolve the merits of the motion filed, that it study our arguments and evidence we offer and issue its ruling; this is the last legal step that remains internally."