The Supreme Court in Mexico determined that the soldiers involved in human rights violations will be tried in civil courts. A majority vote repealed the judicial mandate that had maintained the military charter.
This dictum fulfills the sentence issued by the Inter-American Human Rights Court (CoIDH) against the Mexican state.
The ruling addressed the forced disappearance of the farmer Rosendo Radilla, which occurred in 1974 at the hands of the Mexican military.
The resulting order declares that in those cases in which Mexican armed forces have committed human rights violations, the military charter in the court will be limited. As such, civil judges will be responsible for such crimes.
Sergio Méndez, defense director for the Mexican Commission for Promotion of Human Rights, told Púlsar that he considered the ruling of the Court a “historical fact”.
He added that it signified that the military would no longer serve as judge and jury when a citizen’s individual rights have been questioned.
“We hope that this result helps end the impunity of the military men and women who commit human rights violations,” Méndez declared.
With the ruling the Mexican magistrates repealed a judicial mandate that had served for 70 years.
Story Courtesy of Agencia Pulsar, a news agency run by AMARC-ALC network of community radios.
