IAHCR orders Mexico to change laws on preventative detentions

MND Staff
April 13, 2023



Those accused of wrongdoing can spend years in jail before they are brought to trial. (Gabriela Peréz Montiel/Cuartoscuro)

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has once again ordered Mexico to change its laws regarding the use of preventive detention after ruling the Mexican state violated the rights of two men who were imprisoned for more than 17 years before being convicted of homicide charges.

The court said in a statement on Wednesday that mandatory pretrial detention – which applies in Mexico to suspects accused of a range of crimes, including homicide, rape, kidnapping, fuel theft, burglary and firearms offenses – contravenes the American Convention on Human Rights.

The international court ordered the Mexican government to “adjust its internal legal system on mandatory preventive detention” within one year and “review the pertinence of maintaining” the measure.

The Costa Rica-based court made a similar order earlier this year after handing down a ruling in a case involving three men who were arrested on the Mexico City-Veracruz highway in 2006 on organized crime charges. The men were held in pretrial prison for over 2 ½ years before being released. In January and on Wednesday, the court specifically ordered the elimination of a form of pretrial detention known as arraigo.

More:
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/iahcr-orders-mexico-preventative-detentions/