Indigenous Woman Falsely Accused of Kidnapping Gets 21-year Sentence
April 2009
Mrs. Jacinta Francisco Marcial, an Otomí indigenous woman, was unjustly sentenced to 21 years of prison in Querétaro state penitentiary on December 19th, 2008. Together with Alberta Alcántara and Teresa Gonzalez, she is falsely accused of having kidnapped six agents of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI for its initials in Spanish) on March 26, 2006 in the community of Santiago Mexquititlán, an indigenous community in the municipality of Amealco, Querétaro. The evidence presented does not support any finding of her involvement in such a crime; rather, her innocence is fully proven and should be recognized on appeal.
The facts
On March 26, 2006, six agents of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI), carrying no official identification or any type of uniform, entered the street market in the main square of the community Santiago Mexquititlán. The AFI agents, using violent methods, proceeded to confiscate the local merchants’ goods. When the affected market vendors asked the AFI agents for their identification and the Agency’s order to act in that way, the agents refused to produce these. Tension between the market vendors and the AFI agents grew and some of the merchants started protesting.
AFI’s Regional Chief and an agent of the Federal Attorney’s General Office (PGR) stationed in the nearby town of San Juan del Río, Querétaro arrived at the town’s main square to facilitate a dialogue with the affected people, stating that the authorities would compensate for the damage caused. Both the AFI Regional Chief and the agent of the PGR offered to compensate for the damages with cash. Since they had to drive out to San Juan del Río in order to get the money, they ordered one of AFI’s agents to remain with the people as a “guarantee” that they were coming back.
According to witnesses’ testimonies, the remaining agent was in communication with his superiors at all times and he did not suffer from any kind of physical aggression at any time. The incident ended that same day around 7.00pm, when all the PGR’s agents left the town, after the compensation for the damages had been delivered to the local merchants.
More than four months after the event, on August 3rd, 2006, Mrs. Jacinta Francisco Marcial was arrested by the police. Without having been informed of the reason for her detention, she was presented before the media: only then did she realize that she was being accused, together with two other women, of having kidnapped six AFI agents during the incident in the market of Santiago Mexquititlán in March, 2006. As of today, she has been sentenced to 21 years of prison and a $91,000 peso fine (some 6,100 USD). After a meticulous documentation process, the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (Center Prodh) has taken on the integral defence of her case, which is now being appealed.
Deficiencies of the Justice System
The case of Mrs. Jacinta Francisco Marcial is a perfect example of the deficiencies of the justice system in Mexico, which are more commonly suffered by indigenous women due to the triple discrimination to which they are subjected: being indigenous, being women, and being poor. Doña Jacinta is a victim of violations to her due process rights. During her proceedings, Jacinta Francisco Marcial did not have a translator to interpret what was happening, and she was not presumed innocent. Indeed, the deficiencies of a justice system still characterized by inquisitory elements are clear in Doña Jacinta’s case.
In particular, the judge in her case simply confirmed the validity of the argument presented by the public prosecutor, without having any evidence presented before him that would have established Doña Jacinta’s responsibility. When the judge was presented with evidence establishing Doña Jacinta’s innocence, he refused to consider it; among the evidence were some testimonies that confirm the presence of Doña Jacinta in the stall in which she works selling beverage, in the Catholic Church, and in the town’s drug store, while the incident to which she is being accused happened.
A legal appeal in this case was filed December 22, 2008, meaning that the judge hearing the appeal has the possibility to correct the irregularities of her legal proceedings by ordering Doña Jacinta’s immediate release. Center Prodh calls for the resolution of this case in a manner that respects the victim’s human rights, restoring Doña Jacinta’s freedom and acknowledging her innocence in this matter.
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