Mexico City, June 24st, 2006

INFORMATIVE BULLETIN ABOUT THE PRESENTATION OF THE PRELIMINARY REPORT CONCERNING ATENCO OF THE CCIODH

A Follow-up Commission of the International Civil Commission for Human Rights Observation (CCIODH) made up of three people returns to Mexico from the 26th of June to the 1st of July, 2006 with the objective of publicly presenting the Preliminary Report that was elaborated after visiting Mexico from the 29th of May to the 4th of June.

The Follow-up Commission returns responding to the acquired commitment to respond, as civil society, to the grave Human Rights violations which occurred in San Salvador Atenco and Texcoco in the first days of May. Aside from a presentation of the Preliminary Report to the Mexican society, they hope to follow-up with the attention that the prisoners were able to receive in Santiaguito and La Palma and continue some enquiries pending from their last visit .

They are planning different acts to present the Preliminary Report starting with a public presentation on the 26th of June at 11 a.m. in the Auditorium of the UACM (at the address Fray Servando Teresa de Mier #92, col. Centro) in which they will be accompanied by Mexican intellectuals and some of the testimonials. They we continue to announce acts throughout the week.

The CCIODH returns from Mexico after visiting on June the 23rd, the Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights of the United Nations in Geneva- Mr. Norberto Frydman, responsible for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Mr. Carlos López , responsible for Mexico-. On the 22nd of June they were received by the President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the Congress of the Parliament members of Spain, Antoni Durán i Lleida, in Madrid; in Rome they were received by Umberto Rainieri, President of the Commission of Foreign Relations of the Italian Congress and parliament member of the Democrats of the Left (DS), on the 21st of June. Earlier, on the 15th of June, in the head office of the Catalan Parliament, a delegation of the CCIODH was received in an audience with the Parliament President, Mr. Ernest Benach. The same day they visited with the Director of l'Agència de Cooperació al Desenvolupament (Agency for Cooperation and Development) with the Secretary of Foreign Cooperation of the General Government of Catalonia, Mr. Alex Masllorens.

It is necessary to highlight that all the government institutions and commissions have received the Preliminary Report and has shown shock and concern for the situation. They have all called the CCIODH to come to specific meetings to deal with the question of Atenco and the relation of the different countries with Mexico, concerned about the grave Human Rights violations and, especially, the cases of sexual torture of the women which was gathered in the report.

Follow-up Commission of the CCIODH

Address: Fray Servando Teresa de Mier #92, 4º piso, col. Centro
Cellular phone in México: 044 55 34 67 67 63 - 044 55 32 75 81 22
E-mail: cciodh@pangea.org
Web-site: http://cciodh.pangea.org

The CCIODH is made up of 28 people from 7 different countries. It was in Mexico from the 29th of May until the 4th of June. It conducted 173 interviews with prisoners, family members, townspeople, social and political organizations, and government entities. They were able to access the Santiaguito prison, where all of the male and female prisoners were interviewed, making afterwards a 15 minute video including their statements. The (13) conclusions and recommendations consider it proven that there was an excess of police force, that the government turned to the public force without using all the possible non violent measures to resolve the conflict, that it did not act within the framework of a Rule of Law and did not respect the international standards of protection of human rights, among those the sexual tortures against most of the women detained. They recommend the immediate dismissal of Wilfrido Robledo Madrid, as well as Alejandro Eduardo Martínez Aduna, and those politically responsible for the police operatives. The release of the prisoners of Santiaguito and La Palma is also recommended under the principal of the presumption of their innocence, given the violations of the right to a due process with procedural guaratees.