The Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Rights (CODEDI) denounces aggression against Abraham Ramírez Vázquez
On Thursday June 12 around 10:00 o’clock in the morning, the political prisoner Abraham Ramírez Vázquez was taken out of his cell for an audience with prison warden Raúl Dávalos Zavala. Without allowing time for anyone to interview him, he was handcuffed and put into a patrol car and taken to the court in Santa Maria Huatulco, without his consent, to sign a legal document.
According to the authorities, Abraham petitioned for the closure of his legal process, but he says that he never presented such a document to the court through his lawyer. If the procedure is closed, his sentence will be dictated and it will surely be unfavorable in the current political conditions.
CODEDI continues to demand Abraham’s freedom as well as that of the brothers Juventino and Noel García Cruz; recent defense efforts have centered on getting them out on bail.
The three Zapotec indigenous men –– the first political prisoners of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz’s regime–– were shot, arrested, and unjustly imprisoned on January 15, 2005, after the state police opened fire on approximately 80 men, women, children, and elderly people who were busy with a community project in Santiago Xanica. The CODEDI members had resisted the imposition of an illegitimate municipal government that denied them the right to elect their own local officials in an assembly according to their traditional practices. They opposed government and corporate interests intent on developing the Huatulco corredor and eradicating their culture and grabbing land, forests and water.
In a recent message, CODEDI reiterates that more than three years and four months after the illegal arrests of their members, the organization has not stopped struggling for the freedom of these indigenous prisoners in spite of all the government threats against their family members and comrades.
The lawyers handling the case think that Juventino and Noel García Cruz may well get out on bail, while the case of Abraham Ramirez has proceeded.
CODEDI denounces the actions of the judge who obliged Abraham to sign the document although he had repeatedly refused to do it. The organization says that the judge and her corrupt henchmen use torture and threats against people who often aren’t familiar with all the legal processes, in many cases just because they are indigenous. “A lot of abuses goes on in this prison that can’t be denounced because of the constant death threats. Ever onwards towards victory! Yes to a future of freedom! Not one step backwards!”
Economic support is needed for the legal expenses of political prisoners Abraham Ramiírez Vázquez, Noel García Cruz, and Juventino García Cruz. Contributions can be deposited en:
Cuenta # 09400 575666
a nombre de Maria Carolina Cruz García
Banco SCOTIABANK INVERLAT
Sucursal Pochutla
To make a bank transfer from the United States it is necessary to use the SWIFT /ABA codes:
MBCOMXMM
021000021
