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| Poster Celebrating Alberto Patishtán's Birthday and Demanding His Release |
Mexico City - Alberto Patishtán was arrested in El Bosque, his village, located in The Highlands of Chiapas. He was accused of involvement in an ambush that killed seven state police and wounded two others. The incident occurred several miles from his community, in a place known as Las Lagunas de Las Limas, in the municipality of Simojovel.
The Chiapas government accused Patishtán of organized crime, homicide, possession of weapons for exclusive Army use and aggravated assault. It pronounced a sentence of sixty years. In a trial full of irregularities, in which it was demonstrated that the main witness in the case, the son of the mayor of El Bosque, Manuel Gómez Ruiz, lied in his statement.
Paradoxically, prison has not impeded Patishtán from becoming a leading figure, but quite the opposite. The injustice displayed in his case has been recognized in many parts of the world. In support of his freedom, the teacher Patishtán has received letters and signatures from people and organizations from different countries: France, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, United States, Greece, Argentina, Norway, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Belgium, Sweden, South Africa, Japan, The Netherlands and Occitania.
He has also been recognized as a human rights defender, after creating the group "La Voz del Amate" that on February 25, 2008, organized a hunger strike for 41 days, which served to obtain release for several prisoners in that jail--with the exception of Patishtán, who as punishment was transferred to CERESO No. 15 in the municipality of Copainalá, which is known as a "punishment prison".
After a second demonstration, this time for his freedom, but also for the defense of human rights, on October 20, 2011, he was transferred to the Federal Rehabilitation Center in Guasave, Sinaloa [in northwest Mexico], where he remained for several months away from his family, over two thousand kilometers [1,250 miles] away. Shortly thereafter, they returned him to the prison in Chiapas.
After the release of the Frenchwoman Florence Cassez [freed because due process was violated in her arrest and trail], Patishtán's lawyers saw a possibility for his release and succeeded in bringing the case to the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Nation. However, on March 6, five justices rejected hearing the case and turned it over to the Appellate Court based in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.
On Wednesday, June 19, the Tzotzil teacher Alberto Patishtán completed thirteen years in prison. His innocence has been tested and proven. There is not a single shred of evidence to support the allegations of witnesses induced to lie.
His case is emblematic of those of many men and women who remain unjustly imprisoned, but also of the absence of justice for punishing others who have committed acts of corruption, money laundering, murder, disappearances, pedophilia and rape. They remain on the streets enjoying impunity.
In the coming weeks the First Collegiate Court of the Twentieth Circuit, based in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, will decide if the teacher remains in prison to complete the sentence of sixty years, or is awarded the recognition of innocence, which would involve his immediate release.
Once again the Mexican justice system is being tested. Hopefully, the balance is tilted in favor of the indigenous Tzotzil. Spanish original
Once again the Mexican justice system is being tested. Hopefully, the balance is tilted in favor of the indigenous Tzotzil. Spanish original