David Venegas Reyes Wins Third Federal Protective Order

[ Vocal de Oaxaca on May 1 ]

TO THE PEOPLE OF OAXACA
TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO
TO THE PEOPLE IN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE
TO THE NEWS MEDIA

Our comrade, friend, and brother in the struggle David Venegas Reyes, also known as Alebrije, has been able to prove his innocence for the third time in federal court for the events of November 25, 2006.

On December 27, 2007, the third protective writ was issued in favor of David. This new writ protects him from a pre-trial detention order issued by the judge at Tlacolula de Matamoros due to a legal trap set on September 18, 2007, which consisted of a “reclassification of offenses,” or, in other words, changing the name of the offenses for which David had been declared innocent two times in federal court.

The following summary briefly describes the steps in the legal situation of our comrade and brother David Venegas Reyes.

April 13, 2007. He was kidnapped by heavily armed men in a park known as “el Llano” in the city of Oaxaca and disappeared for several hours. He was finally delivered to the Mixed Unit for Small-Scale Drug Dealing of the state Attorney General’s Office, UMAN-PGR, with marks showing that he had been tortured. He was accused of possession of cocaine and heroin with possible intent to sell. (In a later hearing where bail was granted, it was proved that this charge was fabricated, as he had always maintained.)

April 15, 2007. David was transferred to the Santa María Ixcotel Prison in Oaxaca, where he was notified by the chief judge in the Tlacolula de Matamoros judicial district in Oaxaca that a pre-trial detention order had been issued against him for the events of November 15, 2006. He was charged with arson, sedition, and conspiracy, whereupon he filed a petition for a protective order.

June 12, 2007. A federal court issued a protective order against the pre-trial detention order imposed by the judge at Tlacolula de Matamoros for the events of November 25. The state court then ordered a revision of the protective writ in order to continue to hold David in prison.

At this time the yearly encampment was set up in the Zocalo of the City of Oaxaca as the people and the teachers of Oaxaca prepared for the boycott of the commercial Guelaguetza, which is nothing more than cultural prostitution. People learned that negotiations were underway between Ulises and the leadership of Section 22 of the teachers’ union, in which the leaders agreed to dismantle the camp in the Zocalo and to decline to interfere with the juicy business that the Oaxacan Guelaguetza has become for the government, in exchange for the delivery of schools in the hands of PRI party menbers, the release of Cesar Mateos, the transfer of Flavio and Horacio Sosa Villavicencio to a prison in Oaxaca, and the release of David Venegas Reyes before September 15, knowing that he had won a protective order as of June 12, 2007. The upshot was that the PRI members retained control of the schools and David Venegas Reyes stayed in prison. From the very first moment, these negotiations were rejected by David, whose position was that there’s nothing to negotiate about with the killer of our people who is responsible for the deaths of 26 of our comrades, suffering, torture, imprisonment, exploitation, scorn, and crimes against our mother earth. We haven’t forgotten everything they’ve done to us and we will never forget.

September 17, 2007. The federal court decision was issued with regards to the revision of the protective writ, in which federal magistrates upheld the protection granted to David Venegas Reyes against his pre-trial detention order. Accordingly, David had to be released within 24 hours. This was the second protective order issued in David’s favor.

September 18, 2007. During the 24 hour period in which the authorities were required to notify David of his release order due to lack of evidence of the crimes of sedition, conspiracy, and arson damages, and in view of the impossibility of holding him prisoner any longer for these offenses, the state authorities issued another pre-trial detention order “reclassifying the offenses,” which were then described as attacks against a thoroughfare, dangerous attacks, resisting arrest, rebellion, and crimes against public officials.

December 27, 2007. A third protective order was won for the charges related to the events of November 25, 2006. Due to the lack of incriminating evidence, David was declared innocent of the charges for the third time.

We publicly denounce the fact that, as of now, David Venegas has not been officially notified of why and on what basis he continues to be held prisoner when he has just won a third protective writ.

We repeat that the writ protects him against the pre-trial detention order based on to the reformulation of the charges.

By not immediately notifying David of his situation, the authorities intend to render him helpless, and us as well, so that we will not have legal and political grounds to continue to demand his freedom.

We will redouble our efforts to combat the farcical justice that exists in Oaxaca-México.

Rally outside the Llano courtroom Friday, January 11, 2008 at 9:00AM
March for the freedom of political prisoners, Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 4:00 PM.

IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL FREEDOM FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS!!
MAXIMUM ALERT AND UNCONDITIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS STRUGGLING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE!!
ALL OUT TO DESTROY THE STATE’S GAME!!

OAXACAN VOICES CONSTRUCTING AUTONOMY AND FREEDOM
VOCAL

JANUARY 10, 2008

2 Comments

  1. I support your ongoing efforts. But just know that the struggle against police repression, environmental destruction, and theft of personal & political resources and freedoms is world wide including here in the U.S.

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