Mexican Judge's Betrayal of Justice

EITb reports on the sad state of affairs at Mexico's Supreme Court.

Despite the fact that the project presented by judge Ortiz Mayagoitia in favor of the extradition of the six Basques was completely demolished during the seven hour long discussion on the issue, eight of the judges decided to vote in favor of the extradition, aligning themselves with the bigotry and repression that prevails in certain sectors of Spain's political landscape.

Here you have the note:

Mexican Supreme Court authorizes extradition of six Basques

Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that five men and a woman accused of being members of the armed Basque group ETA can be extradited to Spain to face terrorism charges. The 11-justice Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a final injunction by which the suspects, five men and one woman, had sought to avoid being sent to Spain.

The Spanish government says they were members of the armed Basque group ETA.

When the six will be sent to home was not clear. The court still has to officially notify the Spanish government of its decision, who will then have 60 days to send authorities to oversee the extradition.

The suspects, Asier Arronategi, Ernesto Alberdi, Felix Salustiano Garcia, Juan Carlos Artola, José María Urquijo and María Asunción Gorrotxategi, have repeatedly denied any affiliation with ETA. Most had been living for years in Mexico.

In their injunction, they argued that Spain failed to provide sufficient evidence when it asked Mexico to detain them in July 2003. They have been held in a penitentiary in the capital since then.

But in a complicated series of votes producing a majority ruling that cannot be appealed, the high court judges found that there was enough evidence to support the arrests. In several hours of discussion that stretched over two days, judges also weren't persuaded by the claims that ETA suspects face torture in Spanish prisons.

Barbara Zamora, the chief attorney representing the Basques, called the ruling "politically motivated". She said her clients planned to file motions before several international tribunals, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, as a way to further block their return to Spain.

In addition to their suspected membership in ETA, Spain has charged the suspects with laundering money and receiving illicit proceeds from terrorist activities.

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