Mexico: Spike in torture reports reveals deepening human rights crisis

Mexico: Spike in torture reports reveals deepening human rights crisis

23 October 2015, 05:01 UTC


Mexico’s torture epidemic has reached new catastrophic levels with reports of asphyxiation, rape and other sexual abuse, electric shocks and beatings at the federal level more than doubling in the last year, said Amnesty International in a new report today as President Peña Nieto prepares to present a new Torture Bill to Congress.

“A year ago, it would have been hard to imagine how Mexico’s torture crisis could have gotten any worse and then it just did while the government continues to turn a blind eye to a crisis of their own creation,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.

The number of torture complaints filed at the federal level more than doubled between 2013 and 2014 – from 1,165 to 2,403, according to data from Mexico’s Federal Attorney General´s Office.

The Federal Attorney General´s Office told Amnesty International that they have “no hard data” on any charges issued in 2014 against those responsible.

More:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2015/10/mexico-spike-in-torture-reports-reveals-deepening-human-rights-crisis/