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Compiled by GayToday An Action Alert
 Merida, Yucatan State, Mexico--On August 10, 2001, at 10 PM, dancer
and gay activist Cesar Salazar Gongora was kidnapped here by
three young men. He was raped, beaten with a stone, cut in the ear with a
knife and then abandoned near the village of Tixkokob, 12 miles from
Merida.
On August 13, Mr. Salazar Gongora submitted a complaint to local prosecutors. He was examined by a doctor. In the days that followed, Mr. Salazar Gongora received 63 phone calls threatening him with death for reporting the crime. Two weeks later, on August 27 authorities told him that the complaint could not be found and that "harassment by phone is not a crime." On August 28, a second complaint was submitted and an investigation was finally launched. However, activists complain that it remains stalled. Activist Jorge Franco Cáceres of the magazine Hojas de Hierba in Mérida; Enoé Uranga, a legislator in Mexico's Federal District, and the publication Letra S have called for urgent letters of concern to the authorities in Merida. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) joins their call, and demands an immediate and thorough investigation of the case, with appropriate punishment of those found responsible for the attack upon Cesar Salazar Gongora. Please write to the following officials. (A sample letter follows) Procurador Miguel Angel Díaz Herrera (Attorney General of State) www. yucatan.gob.mx/comentarios.htp Telephone: (52) 99274404 Calle 22 No. 157 (97205) Merida, Yucatan Mexico
Diputado Fernando Castellanos Pacheco (Member of the State Parliament) Telephone: (52) 99232983 Calle 58 No. 497 por 59 (97000) Merida, Yucatan Mexico Lic. Miguel Angel Soberanes Camejo (Director of Preliminary Investigations) Director de averiguaciones previas del estado de Yucatán Telephone/Fax: (52) 99259367 Comunicación Social de la presidencia municipal de Mérida, Yucatán (Communications Office - Mayor) Telephone/Fax: (52) 99241145 Yucatan Representatives in the Mexican Federal Parliament: Dip. Erick Villanueva Nucul, representación de Yucatán (PRD) Telephone: (52) 5628-13-00 ext. 8030 E-mail: evillanu@correo.diputados.gob.mx Dip. Jorge Carlos Berlin Montero, representación Yucatán (PRI) Telephone: (52) 5628-13-00 ext. 3340 E-mail: jcberlin@diputados.pri.org.mx Dip. Luis Artemio Aldana Burgos, representación Yucatán (PAN) Phone (52) 5628-13-00 ext. 7608 E-mail: laldanab@diputados.pan.org.mx Please send copies to: NotieSe -Agencia de informativa en Salud, Sexualidad y Sida Canarias No.45 Col. San Simon Ticumac. C.P. 03660, México, D.F. Phone/Fax: (52) 55-32-27-51and (52) 56-72-70-96 E-mail: notiese@letraese.org.mx Sample Letter: Dear . . . We write to express grave concern over the failure of local authorities to investigate the violent attack and threats again Mr. Cesar Salazar Gongora, a citizen of Merida, Yucatan. On August 10, 2001, at 10 pm, Mr. Salazar Gongora was kidnapped in Paseo de Montejo, Merida by three young men. He was then raped, beaten with a stone, cut in the ear with a knife and abandoned near the village of Tixkokob, 12 miles away from Merida. On August 13, Mr. Salazar Gongora submitted a complaint to Special Agency 21 (Sexual Offenses. He was examined by a doctor. In the days that followed, Mr. Salazar Gongora received 63 phone calls threatening him with death for reporting the crime. Two weeks late., on August 27, Veronica Ramago - head of the Preliminary Investigations office- told Mr. Salazar Gongora and his supporters that the complaint could not be found and that "harassment by phone is not a crime." On August 28, 2001, a Preliminary Investigation (Averiguacion Previa) was finally ordered in the case (number 168/210/01). Yet the investigation has not progressed. We hold Ms. Monica Sanchez and Ms. Laura Jimenez (heads of Special Agencies 21 and 22) and Ms. Veronica Ramago (Director of Preliminary Investigations) responsible for Mr. Salazar Gongora's safety and well-being. Local activists believe the perpetrators of the assault belonged to one of several gangs of wealthy youth that have sprung up in the north of Merida, with racist and homophobic ideologies. An immediate investigation is needed to identify the attackers before they strike again. Mr. Salazar Gongora's rights to liberty and security of person; to freedom from cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment; and to remedy for acts violating his fundamental rights, are protected by international human rights treaties ratified by Mexico (such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Interamerican Human Rights Convention). These treaties are recognized as the supreme law of the nation by both the Federal and the Yucatan Constitutions. The Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 40/34 of 29 November 1985 affirms the victim's entitlement to "access to the mechanisms of justice and to prompt redress, as provided for by national legislation, for the harm that they have suffered" (Paragraph 4) and further specifies that procedures to obtain redress must be "expeditious, fair, inexpensive and accessible" (Paragraph 5). The situation that Mr. Salazar Gongora faces stands in clear violation of those principles. Attorney General Diaz Herrera is considering replacing the principal investigator in the case, and offering Mr. Salazar Gongora police protection. Both these measures are urgently needed. Please act now to see that justice in Mexico is available to all, whether poor, indigenous, or gay, and that prejudice does not interfere with the operation of the law. Sincerely, |
