Drawing by arts student Norma Aide Jiménez Osorio.

A survivor of torture in Mexico testifies

On 3 and 4 May 2006 some 3,000 police officers from the Mexican municipal, state and federal security forces carried out an operation with the alleged purpose of re-establishing law and order in San Salvador Atenco, municipality of Texcoco. More than 200 persons were taken into custody and transferred to the Santiaguito Prison.  

Almost all detainees have given testimony of torture and ill-treatment during the arrest and the many hours of transfer from San Salvador Atenco to the prison, as well as in the prison itself. Among the 50 women taken into custody, several have given testimonies of sexual violence and approximately 20 have reported their cases to the Mexican authorities. The women’s legal representative has asked for expert opinion on the use of torture. Health and legal professionals from the Collective against Torture and Impunity (CCTI), an IRCT member, have initiated investigations into the individual cases to establish evidence based on the Istanbul Protocol principles.

The 23-year-old arts student Norma Aide Jiménez Osorio is one of the women who was sexually assaulted, beaten and intimidated with several death threats by police officers during her arrest and transfer from San Salvador Atenco to the prison. In a personal testimony, which the IRCT publishes under her request, she tells about the brutality she endured:

“The police beat me with a shield and I fell to the floor. Once on the floor two police officers punched me and beat me with nightsticks. They grabbed by my hair, pulled me on my feet and forced me to run, even though my right leg was numb because of the beating. They continued punching me in my stomach and when I told them that I could not run because my leg hurt, they beat my leg. They said that they would rape and kill me and began asking questions about my mother’s name, saying that I would never see my family again because they would make sure that I would disappear forever.”

“Later on they forced me on the back of a truck with punches and kicks. My head was covered by my sweater and I was told to lay facing down. They began beating my thighs with their nightsticks and when I could not take it anymore and I tried to cover my legs with my hands, they continued to beat my hands until I removed them. Then one of the police officers put his hand under my underwear, forcefully spread my legs and inserted his fingers into my anus.”

“After more death threats and kicks they moved me to a bus. Several police officers groped my breasts very brutally and continued to insert their fingers in my vagina, while they insulted and beat me. Several other persons were then thrown onto the bus and I could hear from their complaints and screams that many were being raped and beaten. They tortured us all the way to the prison.”

As of 16 January 2007, Norma Aide Jiménez Osorio and approximately 30 other people arrested with her are still under custody. Despite several requests and an urgent need, the authorities have not permitted any independent doctor or psychologist access to the prison, and no agents have so far been held responsible for the alleged torture or sexual abuse.