Wednesday, December 2, 2015

GOOD NEWS Mexico: Bus driver, father of four, and torture victim, Adrián Vásquez Lagunes, was released after three years - URGENT ACTION

Amnesty International
     Thirty-three-year-old Adrián Vásquez was released unconditionally from prison near Tijuana, Baja California state, in the early hours of 2 December, after a state judge allowed an appeal by Adrián Vásquez´s lawyers and ruled that there was no evidence against him. 
     State police arrested Adrián Vásquez while driving in Tijuana on 26 September 2012. They threatened, beat and nearly asphyxiated him during a 12-hour period in their custody. The police forced water up his nose so it filled his lungs. Neighbours saw Adrián Vásquez being beaten when police took him to his home to conduct a search. The police then presented him to the media and told them he was a notorious drug trafficker. The officers handed him over to prosecutors and alleged that they had stopped him for speeding in a stolen vehicle and that he had then spontaneously identified himself as a drug trafficker. Soon afterwards, he collapsed and was rushed to hospital for life-saving surgery due to the torture he suffered. The Federal Attorney General’s Office charged Adrián Vasquez with drug offences and illegal possession of firearms. He remained in jail while his trial was ongoing. 
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