Rotten Apples

That is exactly what Luis Ernesto Derbez and Miguel Angel Morantinos are, two rotten apples trying to contaminate justice in Mexico, even more.

Obsessed with clinching migratory pacts that according to him will rescue his mediocre presidency, Vicente Fox has decided to give up Mexico's sovereignty and the country's long and honored practice of being a safe haven to those who are persecuted in other countries due to their beliefs.

Over a year ago, six Basques (one of them a Mexican citizen) were arrested in Mexico on charges of belonging to the armed group ETA, they were subject to an extradition request by Spain. The whole process has been plagued with irregularities in big part because of Fox's "special interest" in the case and in part due to the high level of corruption that dominates the political life of the country.

Spanish police officers participated in the arrests, they also conducted questionings, two things strongly forbidden by Mexican law. The request for the extradition came one day after the arrests which indicates that Mexico did not start the legal process until after the arrests were made. Three Mexicans that were also arrested that day were set free because there was never burden of proof to keep them in jail, but somehow the Basques remained incarcerated.

That was just the begining, many other violations to Mexican law were to follow.

Finally the Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación, Mexico's top justice's body, attracted the case, and at least they are willing to study the evidence presented by both the prosecution (one barely legible copy of a document that says nothing) and by the defence (hundreds of documents, including documents issued by the Mexican government).

So, it all depends on the SCJN and its possible refusal to give up to Fox's demands.

If one ever believed in the separation of powers.

Miguel Angel Morantinos claimed that this repression of the six Basques had somehow something to do with the war on terror.

The same war on terror that kicked the PP out of La Moncloa.

One would think that Rodriguez Zapatero would stay away from the less than legal actions initiated by the PP and in this case Aznar and Garzón. But oh no, this is about the Basques, and despite all his "willingness" to negotiate, he will not let this one go.

So this is what the note about Morantinos' visit says:

Both countries pledged to share information, as well as increase cooperation between their security forces and legal systems as part of the war on terror. But they also promised that increased security measures would not diminish human rights guarantees.

In July 2003, Mexico arrested five men and a woman accused in Spain of involvement in the radical Basque separatist group ETA. The defendants, most of whom have been living in Mexico for years, say they are not ETA members and have challenged a Spanish extradition request on terrorism charges in Mexico's Supreme Court.

The high court ruled last week that the accused ETA members are not eligible for bail while they appeal. When it will rule on the extradition process was unclear, however.

Moratinos said he was confident the suspects would be extradited to Spain once their appeal process had been exhausted. He said that for terrorists worldwide "the message is clear: They will be defeated."

"They will be defeated by the defense of precisely what they want to destroy, that is, a community of principles, values, and the rule of law that makes western civilization great," he said. "I believe the best way to do this is by reinforcing international cooperation."

Ahem, "would not diminish human rights guarantees", this comming from a country that both the UN's Human Rights Comissioner and Amnesty International have accused of practicing torture against Basque political prisoners and immigrants.

Cute indeed.

And what about this line: "Moratinos said he was confident the suspects would be extradited to Spain once their appeal process had been exhausted. He said that for terrorists worldwide "the message is clear: They will be defeated."

Excuse me Mr. Morantinos, I do not know how is it in Spain, but in the rest of the civilized world there is something called presumption of innocence, so, stop calling them terrorists, non of your judges has come up with a veredict yet, or at least that is what we want to think. And so far all what you're government has produced as evidence is a crummy copy of a document that means nothing, meaning, no burden of proof.

So, Mr. Morantinos, stop presenting the carrot of a migratory deal to Mexico in exchange for expanding your repression of the Basques outside Spain's borders.

And since I am at it, stop the criminalization of ideas, stop the torture, stop the incommunicado practice, stop the dispersion, stop the preventive prison without a timely trial.

This is the XXI Century, not Francoist Spain.

* The article was published by San Diego.com, it can also be found at Artxiboak.

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