Relatives of Bonfilio Rubio @ Centro ProDH
After several years of debate regarding the possibilities of creating structural conditions that would allow access to justice for the victims and relatives of those subjected to abuse by the military, on 16 August the Supreme Court for Justice in the Nation (SCJN) sentenced in favor of the motion advanced by the relatives of Bonfilio Rubio Villegas, a Naua indigenous youth from the Montaña of Guerrero who in 2009 was murdered by soldiers of the Mexican Army. The SCJN has ordered that the penal investigation undertaken into this homicide by transferred to civil federal jurisdiction.
On 20 June 2009, soldiers opened fire on a passenger bus in which Bonfilio was traveling, together with 40 others. Following these events, the military tribunal undertook the investigation, despite the fact that the relatives of Bonfilio expressly opposed this. In response, then, they initiated a judicial motion, being accompanied by the Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights and the Civil Monitor of the Security Forces of the Montaña. In its sentence of 16 August, the SCJN confirmed that the case should be taken up by civil courts. This demand was promoted by the father and brother of Rubio Villegas; it is the first case that sees a favorable outcome, after having been promoted by relatives of the victim in their struggle against the unconstitutional extension of the military court’s jurisdiction.
For more information (in Spanish):
SCJN reconoce derechos de familiares de víctimas de abuso militar y limita fuero castrense (Centro ProDH, 22 de agosto de 2012)
Avala SCJN juicio civil a militar acusado de crimen (El Universal, 21 de agosto de 2012)
Para más información de SIPAZ:
Nacional: NGOs request that SCJN resolve affairs relating to military tribunals in 32 cases (17 June 2012)
Guerrero: Army opposes historical sentence in case of Bonfilio Rubio (9 February 2012)
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