ANOTHER YEAR OF IMPUNITY!

Who is Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno?

36 year old Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno was born in the City of Oaxaca. Whilst bread maker by trade, he has been an active community member within his municipality, Santa Lucía del Camino. Since the beginning of 2008 he has collaborated with the Director of Education as Sports Assistant. He is also a member of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO in its Spanish initials). Up until being accused for the murder of Bradley Roland Will, Juan Manuel had never been prosecuted for any crime. It is important to recognize that Santa Lucía del Camino is one of the largest municipalities in the state of Oaxaca, and is governed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI in its Spanish initials), to which opposition has been strongly mounting. Juan Manuel also acted as representative for the opposing party in the current city council.

Summary of the penal process

On the 27th October 2006 Indymedia journalist, Bradley Roland Will, was recording an APPO demonstration in Santa Lucía del Camino. At an area where a number of barricades had been erected, a violent confrontation broke out between demonstrators and groups formed by public workers and members of the local PRI party. The situation worsened when a number of people were wounded by firearms, amongst which, Bradley Roland Will lost his life.

 On the 15th October 2008, the Attorney General’s Office (PGR in its Spanish initials) took penal action against Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, considering him to be the likely responsible individual for the murder of Bradley Roland Will. Penal action was also taken against Edgar and Gualberto Francisco Santiago Navarro, Hugo Colmenares Leyva, Marco Antonio Rojas Lázaro, Octavio Pérez Pérez, Miguel Cruz Moreno, Leonardo Ortiz Cruz and Gustavo Vilchis Ramírez, who are considered likely to be responsible for crimes of concealment.  

On the 16th October Juan Manuel was arrested. On the 22nd, the Fourth Criminal Judge of the Central Judicial District (state level) issued a detention order for formal prison for the probable responsibility of the crime of murder, with the aggravating circumstance of advantage, sentenced under oaxacan law for up to 40 years imprisonment. However, not one witness has referred to having seen Juan Manuel at the scene of the crime, nor is there any evidence against him.

In his defense, Juan Manuel submitted an appeal against the federal justice, for which, on the 29th October, he requested ‘amparo action’, which would guarantee protection of his constitutional rights. Although granted on the 16th January, the process was lengthy due to the review requested by the Federal Public Ministry, which was finally resolved on the 6th July but had limited effect as it was only applied to certain aspects of the case. With the use of this first request for action, certain issues relating to the legal process and judicial security were exposed, but not in relation to the analyses and valorization of the tests and evidence used in the investigation.

For that reason, the defense issued a Second Request for Amparo Action, thereby obligating the judge to enter into more depth on the issue. This was requested on the 16th July 2009. At this moment, however, three court hearings have been cancelled, which were due to take place on the 4th August, 26th August and the 11th September, making the case currently practically frozen. 

The main irregularities in the process:

a)    Unsatisfactory and contradictory witness accounts, without any direct indication of Juan Manuel as responsible for the crime.
b)    Deficient tests submitted by experts on the case, which have been centered on the distance at which the gun shot was fired.
c)    The creation of false tests that seek to incriminate Juan Manuel
d)    The obstruction to an adequate defense team
e)    The postponement of justice

Human Rights violations

Aside from the aforementioned, Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno has suffered a series of Human Rights violations of his personal wellbeing, consisting of accusations, harassments and inhumane treatment that he has been subject to throughout the entire penal process by guards, members of The Federal Investigations Agency (AFI in its Spanish initials) and by other prisoners. He has suffered violations of liberty and right to personal security, having been unlawfully deprived of his freedom, of the right to justice and to a fair legal process in light of the numerous irregularities of his case.

The right to a fair legal process seeks to ensure correct application of the laws within the frame of fundamental respect for human dignity under all types of penal process. In regards to the case of Juan Manuel, his rights to an adequate defense team, to unconditional access and knowledge of charges of accusation used against him, including experts’ analysis, and to the possibility of refuting them, to an independent, impartial judge and to the Innocence Law have all been violated. Under the American Convention on Human Rights, the Innocence Law operates upon the need for evidence of guilt, according to which, no individual may be considered or treated as guilty before a clear verdict of guilt has been declared within the common and legal process.

The motives behind the case: the Merida Plan

“The Merida Initiative”, or “Plan Mexico” presents itself as a “Cooperation Initiative for Regional Security”. With a proposed duration of three years and cost of $1,400 million dollars, it has the objective of combating drug trafficking and violence linked to organized crime in Mexico. In 2007, for the implementation of Plan Merida in Mexico, $1120 million dollars were authorized by the United States Congress, part of which was contingent upon an agreement to reach a conclusion in the investigative case of Brad Will.

In light of the above, we believe that Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno is being held as a Prisoner of the State and used as a bartering tool in the Merida Plan, as the case of Brad Will has been one of the key negotiating factors for the granting of the numerous resources offered within this initiative. 

Actions of support in the case of Juan Manuel

 20th October 2008. Amnesty International releases Urgent Action 287/08 in light of the detention of Juan Manuel and fear of torture and/or inhumane treatment within a disquieting juridical process.

 Section 22 of the National Union of Education Workers has shown strong political support of the case. As well as demanding the freedom of Juan Manuel, since November 2008, they have carried out both meetings and marches demanding resolution of the case.

 Urgent Action on the 14th April carried out by the Committee 25 of November of Oaxaca in light of the intimidation used by an AFI agent so that Juan Manuel would declare himself as responsible for the murder of Brad Will, and due to the irregularities of the penal process and the surreptitious behavior of the prison authorities.

 The ecclesiastical sector has carried out a diverse range of liturgical actions jointly with the family of Juan Manuel in support of the case, such as Fasting for the Freedom of Juan Manuel in November 2008 to denounce the irregularities that have been observed in the case.

 10th July. Priests, pastors and both North American and Mexican members of the church community have demonstrated their concerns to Barack Obama and Felipe Calderón regarding the case of the murder of Bradley Roland Will and the Human Rights violations that have been committed against Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno, accused of the murder of Brad Will.

OUR DEMANDS

We restate that Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno has suffered from arbitrary detention due to the current lack of evidence that directly indicates him as responsible for the murder of Brad Will.

We demand that state and federal authorities adhere to fair court proceedings, ensuring that the right to a just legal process and to all judicial rights is granted to Juan Manuel. We demand that the personal safety, as well as physical, psychological and moral wellbeing of Juan Manuel is ensured during his detention in the Ixcotel prison in Oaxaca.

We demand that the right to an adequate defense team is guaranteed, as well as access to all details of the investigation and experts’ analysis, alongside efficient completion of the stages of the legal process so as to avoid any more delays.

We demand that the Attorney General’s Office (PGR in its Spanish initials) stops using disputed analysis within the investigation, and that it stops intervening with actions that delay the investigation, in areas that fall outside of their capabilities.

We are calling on all International Human Rights Organizations to make a stand against the IMPUNITY that prevails and governs in Oaxaca, due to the deliberate omission to administer justice on the part of all competent institutions.

                      To support the case, please contact us on:
                               info@comite25noviembre.org
                                   porjuanmanuel@gmail.com