The Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) reported that there are "indications" of military involvement in the disappearance of seven people on July 7 in the municipality of Calera, where they were allegedly arrested by soldiers of 97 Infantry Battalion. On Saturday, the 18th, their bodies were found in the neighboring town of Jerez. They had been tortured before receiving a coup de grace.
In press releases issued by the 11th Military Zone in Zacatecas, the Department of Defense first confirmed that the Attorney General of Military Justice had opened a preliminary investigation into the events and later reported that results of the investigation had "identified indications of a probable involvement of military personnel" in these disappearances and had forward the results of its investigation to the Attorney General's Office (PGR), acting in respect for its scope of jurisdiction.
MV Note: In Sept. 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that cases involving military violations of civilians' human rights must be tried in civilian, not miltary, courts.Victims' relatives publicly denounced that soldiers violently took the seven youths, five men and two women, from a house located in the municipal seat of Calera.
The Mexican Army announced that the Attorney General of Military Justice will continue the investigation to determine whether there were violations of military discipline and, if necessary, proceed to bring charges before military courts. In its press release, it said:
"The Secretariat of National Defense will cooperate with the appropriate authorities in order to clarify the facts" and "will not tolerate acts contrary to the laws and, in case members of the military did not conduct themselves according to law, it will investigate them and, if it proves to be the case, penalize them regardless of rank, post or commission."In a separate event, about 80 people and city officials rallied at the main entrance of the 97 Infantry Battalion, located in Fresnillo, in support to Colonel Martin Resendiz Perez, whom the relatives of victims accused of leading and ordering the arrest of the youth, among whom was a former soldier.
Meanwhile, relatives of the youth...have been waiting since Saturday at the Forensic Medical Service in Fresnillo to receive the four bodies that have already been identified.
The sister of one of the disappeared, who has not yet been identified, reported that she had neither been allowed to see the bodies in order to determine if one of them is her brother, nor had she been shown photographs, nor had the forensic office taken a DNA sample, arguing that it is Sunday.
"Following this premise, they are only going to look for our relatives from Monday to Friday; they're not going to do tests on weekends. And, apparently, the four bodies already identified won't be delivered until Monday or Tuesday. This is not just! The bodies are already in very bad condition and to keep waiting makes the families' agony longer... That's not right!" declared the victim.