Arrest warrants issued for Cacho case

Warrants for the arrest of five public employees involved in the illegal detention of journalist Lydia Cacho (pictured) have been issued in Mexico after the nation’s Supreme Court decided at the end of last year not to pursue legal proceedings against those involved in the case.

The Attorney General’s office, which represents a special office set up to investigate crimes against journalists in Mexico (Fiscalía Especial para la Atención de Delitos Contra Periodistas, FEADP), issued the arrest warrants. The names of those who are under arrest warrant have not been published, and it is not known whether Mario Marin, the governor of Puebla who was implicated in the illegal arrest of Cacho, is amongst them.

Cacho was arrested by Puebla police on December 16th 2005 in her home state of the Yucatan following the publication of her book called Los Demonios Del Eden, in which she alleged the Cancun-based businessman Jean Succar Kuri was the leader of a pedophile ring that involved luring young and poor girls to his home so that he and his friends could have sex with them.

She also linked a number of state officials and other businessmen to the shady network, and Marin was implicated in her illegal detention. Phone conversations revealed by the daily La Jornada and broadcast on W Radio between Marin and local businessman Kamel Nacif, a friend of one of the architects of the child sex ring Jean Succar Kuri, featured the governor and the company boss joking that Cacho should be raped during her transfer.

On the tape Nacif Borge calls Marin “my precious governor,” and Marin calls the businessman “my hero” as the two celebrate Cacho’s arrest.

After a brief detention, Cacho was released and became the first woman in the country to file a federal suit against a governor, district attorney and a judge for corruption and attempted rape in prison. But Cacho’s efforts for justice at the Supreme Court of Mexico proved disappointing, after the Court rejected a report by its own Commission that found that Marin and 29 of his officials had conspired to violate Cacho’s rights.

Marin walked.

Cacho later alleged that some of the Supreme Court judges – who 48 hours earlier looked as though they were going to vote in her favor, had been paid off by Marin’s lawyers.

It now appears that Cacho could be dealt justice through the FEADP, a special legal team put in charge of investigating crime against journalists during the Fox Presidency. The Office has largely been regarded as toothless until now, but arrest warrants for the public employees are in front of a district judge. It is not clear what the next step will be – but stay tuned.

The news coincides with a fact finding mission taking place in Mexico this week which is a joint initiative by a number of domestic and international NGOs.

According to a press release from Article 19: ‘The central objective of the mission is to evaluate the situation of freedom of expression and press freedom in regions in the north and south of the country, these include Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacán, and Sonora. The aim is to provide support to local media organisations/unions, and to raise awareness about the risks that media workers face. In addition it will, by means of the establishment of a dialogue with federal and state authorities, and other bodies relevant for the full exercise of freedom of expression, promote exploration of the viability of remedies/instruments created to address the issue.’

Go the press centre for Article 19 to see the release.

The organisations participating include ARTICLE 19, International Media Support (IMS), Asociación Mundial de Radios Comunitarias (AMARC), Rory Peck Trust Fund, Reporters Without Borders, International Federation of Journalists, International News Safety Institute (INSI), Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (Colombia), International Press Institute (IPI), Inter Amercan Press Association (SIP), Open Society Institute (OSI) and UNESCO.