Fernando Camacho Servín
La Jornada, 201th June, 2013
The case of Alberto
Patishtán, the indigenous teacher sentenced to sixty years in prison, is
entering a decisive phase. In the coming weeks, a federal appeals court based in
Chiapas will appoint the judge in charge of analysing his sentence, which could
lead to his release in the short-term, stated members of civic
organizations.
At a political-cultural
event held yesterday in front of the Palace of Bellas Artes [Fine
Arts] in Mexico City to mark the 13th anniversary of his incarceration, the
Tzotzil activist affirmed by telephone link from prison in San Cristóbal, that
these years of unjust imprisonment have served as an education, and he asked the
First Circuit Court to discuss his case "with the heart".
The teacher's son, Héctor
Patishtán, agreed that his father's case is entering a decisive stage, even
though in March of this year the Supreme Court refused to accept it on grounds
that it was "not a priority" matter.
Meanwhile, the indigenous
prisoner's lawyer, Sandino Rivero, emphasized that we are weeks from this being
defined. In July or August, it is expected that the judge will be named to
preside over the appeal, and he will have ten days either to ratify the 60-year
prison sentence or order Patishtán's release.
Widespread
Support
Pablo González Casanova,
former rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), emphasized
that, in his opinion, the country is undergoing a grave moral crisis, as
confirmed by the embarrassing fact that the activist was imprisoned on false
evidence for a crime he did not commit.
"It is despicable that a man
who represents many indigenous peoples who have been attacked since the
Conquest, that this man might be incarcerated. So I ask the judges to act with
awareness for freedom," declared González Casanova.
Among other personages, the
ceremony was attended by the Secretary General of the Electricians Union, Martín
Esparza; the leader of the People's Front in Defense of the Land, Trinidad
Ramírez; actress Julieta Egurrola, and the poet and writer Mardonio Carballo.
Translation by Jane
Brundage
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