Mexico: Military accused of irregularities in student death

[Judi Lynn]

Google translation from La Semana:

Mexico: Military accused of irregularities in student death

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC ) has accused the Mexican military to manipulate the scene where two students killed during a clash between soldiers and suspected hitmen in Monterrey in the northeast.
Saturday August 14, 2010

The soldiers placed guns at the foot of young people to make them look like criminals, they were also beaten while dying , said the NHRC issued a recommendation to the Ministry of Defence, the state government of Nuevo León and the Attorney ( Prosecutor ) General Republic.

Civil organizations have said the death of students from the Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey ( ITESM) , is a case , it reveals the excesses that can be committed in the fight against drug cartels .

In fact , the NHRC said the Army used arbitrarily forces and committed " cruel and inhuman acts " against the victims.

Before the accusations , the ministry said it will review the recommendation and subsequently provide an answer.

Crime Scene

The clash that killed students and Antonio Francisco Arredondo Market occurred on March 19 outside the ITESM in Monterrey.

Army troops clashed with gunmen traveling in a van. In the shootout students were injured , but received no help from the military.

According to the NHRC , the victims were alive a few minutes, "which is relevant in the sense that with a high degree of probability that after having been shot , were injured in the face , "the recommendation.

The soldiers moved the bodies of students and smashed the television camera was at a security gate near the site of the confrontation.

Initially , the Ministry of Defence and the Attorney General of Nuevo Leon said that the youth belonged to the group that confronted the military.

But then he found that students were actually ITESM , prompting an angry protest from its peers and the people of Monterrey.

Since 2006, when the government stepped up the fight against drug cartels , the Ministry of Defence has received 52 recommendations of the NHRC for abuses committed by the military.

More than 45,000 soldiers and federal police officers involved in the crusade against drug trafficking in Mexico , a struggle that has left a figure greater than 28,000 people dead according to official figures .

http://www.semana.com/noticias-mundo/mexico-acusan-militares-irregularidades-muerte-estudiantes/143058.aspx