By Anayeli Garcia Martínez
Cimacnoticias
March 6, 2014
Smiling, nervous and discreet, Yakiri Rubí Rubio Aupart was released yesterday from the Women’s Rehabilitation Center in Tepepan, minutes before 10 pm, after spending almost three months in prison after being accused of killing Miguel Angel Ramirez Anaya, who raped and attempted to kill her on December 9th.
Along with her parents, Marina Beltrán and José Luis Rubio, and surrounded by a makeshift line of activists who tried to prevent the approaching cluster of cameras, the young woman gave her first statement to the press to thank people, who from the start, believed she was the victim of rape and fought back to save her life.
With her head held high, the 20-year-old took the megaphone and said “I’m happy because I’m out. I’m proud of these people who are here, of my family, without them I would not be here, without you. Thank you, really, for all the support you are giving me, have given me and for being here with my family”.
With little desire to talk about the sexual assault, she said: “What I went through was very hard. We are here surviving, we survive. I am very happy to be out. I am very happy”.
Even with the excitement of being free, Yakiri could not help mention that she is not acquitted of the charges pursued by the Attorney General of the Federal District (PGJDF), because the offense was reclassified as “murder with excessive self-defense” and she will have to follow the process outside of prison.
“The process will continue, this time on the outside, however I still live in fear since one of my attackers is still free. He continues his life happy as ever. I fear for myself and for my family who may be at risk. My attackers were two brothers, one of them is Luis Omar Ramírez Anaya”.
Yakiri was released after a decision of the judges of the Fifth Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of the Federal District, which on March 3 found that although the young woman committed the murder of her sex offender, she actually did so with excess of “legitimate defense” to try and save her life.
Now more confident of her words, Yakiri warned: “I will not rest until that offender, who was also complicit in everything that they did to me, is put in prison”.
Despite her rush to seek justice, she did not fail to say that when she was raped she reported it, thinking that the justice system would help, but then realized that it doesn’t work that way. Similar to her, there are other women who are victims and are also unjustly imprisoned.
“What I wish for is an end to injustice, for sexism to cease to exist, it was because of sexism that I was tried. I wish it wouldn’t continue, that I would be the last woman to go through this situation because it is very hard, very tough, no one would want to go through it”.
While giving her message, her grandparents unexpectedly broke through the line of supporters and rushed over to hug her and take her home. Yet before the family took Yakiri she gave one last statement: “I shall continue to help many more women; I give my word because I would not want this to happen to anyone else”.
The release process concluded the night of March 5th, but during the wait, youth, feminists and members of the Citizens Committee for the Freedom of Yakiri gathered outside the prison to wait for her.
For over 5 hours, feminists organized an event with chanting and percussion, where they also criticized the 68th Court Judge, Santiago Ávila Negrón, who imprisoned the young woman and saw no crime committed by brothers Miguel Ángel and Luis Omar.
With cries of “macho justice,” the demonstrators criticized a punitive system concerned more with punishment than justice.
It must be said that on Wednesday morning the 23rd Misdemeanor Court Judge, Agustín Fausto Ayala Favela, set bail at just over 423,000 pesos for Yakiri, but because the family did not have that amount they launched a social media campaign and call for supporters to make financial contributions.
To achieve her release, the legal defense team deposited between 10 and 15 percent of the total, of which 323,000 pesos went to “damages” and the rest for legal expenses, as required by law.
Marina Beltrán and José Luis Rubio reported that they managed to make the payment by yesterday afternoon thanks to about 140 thousand dollars they gathered through solidarity contributions, support from senators of the PRD and a bonding that accepted the deeds of a building.
After a mobilization and wait of 24 hours; since the family had expected Judge Fausto Agustí Favela to set Yakiri’s bail on the previous Tuesday afternoon, the young woman finally went home.
Amid a crowd of reporters, Yakiri left the scene aboard a truck. According to the legal process, Yakiri had to appear for her first hearing the following day, now before the 23rd Misdemeanor Court that will take on the case of “murder with excessive self-defense”.
