Twenty central Mexico state officials are being investigated over allegations that witnesses of the suspected execution of gang suspects by soldiers were tortured, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The chief prosecutor of Mexico State, Alejandro Gomez, told reporters that those being questioned are investigators his agency, and they are "more than willing to cooperate with the investigation."
The probe follows the arrest last year of seven soldiers in connection with the June 30 killing of 22 suspected criminals in Tlatlaya, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Mexico City.
At first, the military issued a statement saying the suspects had died in a shootout. But a witness told Esquire magazine in September that most had been executed after surrendering.
Federal prosecutors subsequently charged seven soldiers with "crimes against public service." Three of them face murder charges for the killing of eight of the 22 gang suspects.
In October, the National Human Rights Commission said at least 12 of the suspects had been executed.
The commission also said two witnesses had been tortured and sexually assaulted by officials from the state prosecutor's office so that they would not testify about how the 22 suspects were killed.
The commission's report said three officials had taken a female witness to a bathroom, where they hit her and placed a plastic bag over her head.
"A man threatened to rape her, making sexually threatening questions, lowering his pants and ordering her to bend down. At that moment, she said she would say what they wanted," the report said.
The Tlatlaya killings, coupled with the presumed murder of 43 college students by a police-backed gang in the state of Guerrero last year, have put a spotlight on Mexico's brutal security forces.
Twenty central Mexico state officials are being investigated over allegations that witnesses of the suspected execution of gang suspects by soldiers were tortured, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The chief prosecutor of Mexico State, Alejandro Gomez, told reporters that those being questioned are investigators his agency, and they are “more than willing to cooperate with the investigation.”
The probe follows the arrest last year of seven soldiers in connection with the June 30 killing of 22 suspected criminals in Tlatlaya, 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of Mexico City.
At first, the military issued a statement saying the suspects had died in a shootout. But a witness told Esquire magazine in September that most had been executed after surrendering.
Federal prosecutors subsequently charged seven soldiers with “crimes against public service.” Three of them face murder charges for the killing of eight of the 22 gang suspects.
In October, the National Human Rights Commission said at least 12 of the suspects had been executed.
The commission also said two witnesses had been tortured and sexually assaulted by officials from the state prosecutor’s office so that they would not testify about how the 22 suspects were killed.
The commission’s report said three officials had taken a female witness to a bathroom, where they hit her and placed a plastic bag over her head.
“A man threatened to rape her, making sexually threatening questions, lowering his pants and ordering her to bend down. At that moment, she said she would say what they wanted,” the report said.
The Tlatlaya killings, coupled with the presumed murder of 43 college students by a police-backed gang in the state of Guerrero last year, have put a spotlight on Mexico’s brutal security forces.
