Roberto Paciencia. Photo@CDHFBC
On the afternoon of November 24, Roberto Paciencia Cruz, an indigenous tsotsil (Chenalhó), adherent to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle, was released having been acquitted.
Patcencia Cruz was received by relatives, friends and ex-prisoners in the Cathedral Square of San Cristobal de Las Casas, where a small party had been organized to demand his release since morning. “I was imprisoned for three years and three months, accused of the crime of kidnapping that I did not commit because I had nothing to do with it. Accused me just because justice is very regrettable in the country”, he said in an interview with media.
The “No Estamos Todxs” Working Group stated in a release: “Roberto, a former prisoner adherent to the Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle of the EZLN, is one of those people who do not keep silent, do not legitimize barbarism and are ready to take on the consequences of their cry of conscience and rebellion. In this way, through his voice he has denounced the human rights violations suffered by the prison population by the prison authorities and has inspired the awakening of other prisoners within the prison. This was one more case of a system of racist and classist state justice for which the fact of being poor and indigenous is a crime enough to imprison us. But also, an example of how the jail can be another trench of struggle from which to follow the relief of those who fought before and set an example for those who continue fighting for their freedom.”
For more information in Spanish:
Chiapas: absuelven a indígena tzotzil preso desde hace tres años (La Jornada, 24 de noviembre de 2016)
Pronunciamiento del Grupo de Trabajo « No estamos todxs » (24 de noviembre de 2016)
Vídeo (Regeneración Radio, 24 de noviembre de 2016)
For more information form SIPAZ :
Chiapas: Juez dictaminará sentencia a Roberto Paciencia (15 de noviembre de 2016)
Chiapas: Procesión fuera del CERSS No.5 en exigencia de la liberación de Roberto Paciencia Cruz (31 de octibre de 2016)
Chiapas: Roberto Paciencia Cruz, injustamente preso, denuncia la negacion del acceso a sus visitas por segunda vez (a 19 de octubre 2016)
Chiapas: Carta de Roberto Paciencia Cruz en el marco del día internacional de los presos (24 de septiembre de 2016)
sipazen.wordpress.com 