Journalist Lydia Cacho and Mexican (in)justice
CASE LYDIA CACHO-MARIO MARIN
Justice for the abused children of Mexico!
Please contact Jorge Zepeda at zepeda@diasiete.com to sign a statement of support for Lydia Cacho and to protest the lack of Mexican criminal justice system protection for citizens who report filmed sexual abuse of children.
In the fall of 2003, a few brave children reported that they had been sexually abused by Jean Succar Kuri,a Cancun hotel owner and american citizen in california, who was set up in business his friend, Kamel Nacif, a rich and politically-connected businessman. Succar Kuri fled to the United States, where he was arrested in Arizona, but not extradited until Lydia Cacho's book and arrest brought new attention to the case.
In retaliation, Succar Kuri's protectors, Kamel Nacif and Mario Marin,arranged to have Lydia Cacho arrested and taken on a torturous 20 hours ride to the state of Puebla, threatened with rape and murder all the way. After this ordeal, her adversaries had a psychiatric evaluation done, which they recently released in an attempt to brand her as crazy and thus influence the Supreme Court. There has already been much interference with the process of justice: death threats against Cacho's first two lawyers, who dropped the case; the disappearance of important evidence; and a recent attempt to assassinate Cacho by sabotaging the armored car she rides in.
In 2006 Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho wrote a book called The Demons of Eden, exposing a child pornography ring in Cancun which involved the sexual abuse of many young children and the production of child porn videos for sale in the United States and Europe. One of the men involved sued her for defamation and arranged a judicial kidnapping and she has since been threatened her death so often that she is now under 24 hour police protection
Refusing to be intimidated, Lydia Cacho sued those involved, including Mario Marin , Governor of the state of Puebla, and Kamel Nacif , a big sweatshop operator known as the "Denim King," for violating her human rights. In January 2 nd 2007 she was found not guilty in the defamation case; now her own lawsuit went trough Congress and is before the Mexican Supreme Court. A conviction in the case could be a breakthrough not only for the violated children of Cancun but for millions of others, including journalists, who suffer from the collusion of Mexican government officials and criminals. However, the culture of impunity is very strong in Mexico and international pressure is needed to bring such powerful men to justice.
What is at stake?
Nothing less than the integrity of the criminal justice system is at stake here. The persecution of Lydia Cacho and of the children who testified against Succar Kuri has reinforced the opinion of the eight out of ten Mexicans who do not report crimes because they know the authorities won't protect them. The Courtmust recognize the evidence that implicates the authorities in Puebla in child pornography and trafficking networks, and hold them accountable for their actions. We urge all Judges of the Supreme Court to recognize existing evidence and rule accordingly.
This is an historic opportunity for the Supreme Court judges to show that the Mexican people can trust in the rule of law, and to show the world that the purpose of the Mexican criminal justice system is to protect citizens and their human rights, not to perpetuate corruption and impunity.
Signed by:
Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñarritu, Guillermo del Toro, Luis Mandoki, Berta Navarro,Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Lorena Maza, Mariana Rodríguez, Dana Rotberg, Carlos Reygadas, Sasha Sokol, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Kate del Castillo, , Patricia reyes Espíndola, Carmen Gimenez Cacho, Gabriela García Luna, Elena Poniatowska, Denise Dresser, Angeles Ochoa,Sergio Aguayo, Jorge Zepeda Patterson, Alberto Ruy Sánchez, Carmen Boullosa, Sabina Berman,Humberto Musachio, Enrique Berruga, Maria Idalia Gómez, Salvador Camarena, Salvador Frausto. Jenaro Villamil, Debora Holtz, Héctor de Mauleón, Alejandro Paez, Rita Varela, Marco Lara Kahr, Cri Rodríguez,Huberto Bátiz, Berta Hiriart, Clara Jusidman, Angeles Mastretta Carlos Fazio, Clara Scherer, Diana Washington Valdéz, Epigmenio Ibarra, Federico Campbell, Jordi Soler,Guadalupe Loaeza, Héctor (Eko) de la Garza, Jorge Fernández Menéndez, Grupo Elefante, Saul "Jaguares",Liliana Felipe, Jesusa Rodríguez, María de los Angeles Moreno, María Elena Chapa, María Teresa Priego, Marie Claire Acosta,Marina Arvizu, Mónica Lavín, Patricia Mercado, Ricardo Rocha, Rosa Nissan, Rosaura Barahona, Sara Sefchovich, Sergio González Rodríguez, Maximiliano Vega Tato, Alberto Begné, Margarita De Orellana, María Consuelo Mejía, Blanca Rico, Alicia Leal,Gerardo Garcìa
Together with their US supporters Amnesty Intel.USA, CPJ New York.