The Ministry of National Defense (Secretaría de Defensa Nacional, SEDENA) filed a petition for review challenging the legal protection in favor of the relatives of Bonfilio Rubio Villegas, a Nahua indian, who was shot and killed on June 20th 2009 by Mexican soldiers. The resolution recognized the relatives´right for both the investigation and trial to be carried out by civil courts rather than institutions of military justice.

The Tlachinollan Human Rights Center issued a statement on January 29 expressing concern about SEDENA´s arguments for the appeal, which according to Tlachinollan is a denial that the military courts are incompetent to judge crimes with civilian casualties in Mexico. The appeal by the Ministry of Defence would question the scope and validity of the sentence in the Radilla case against the Mexican state issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2009. It would also undermine the legality of the resolution of the Mexican Supreme Court on July 12 which states that military members accused of violation of human rights against civilians should be tried by civilian courts.

More information

Tlachinollan Press Release (in Spanish): SEDENA impugna sentencia que concedió amparo contra la ilegal extensión del fuero castrense a los familiares de Bonfilio Rubio Villegas, indígena naua ejecutado extrajudicialmente por militares, Mexico, 29 January 2012

Press Release NGOs (in Spanish): Sedena desconoce la decisión de la SCJN y cuatro fallos de la CoIDH de restringir el fuero militar, CENCOS, February 2012

PBI's accompaniment to Tlachinollan Human Rights Center