Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 10:23:07 -0700 (PDT) From: Rex Wockner Subject: POLICE IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, ABUSE GAYS ************************************************** * Copyright (c) 1995 Rex Wockner and affiliates. * ************************************************** ****************************************************************** * Accents: e in Mexico, e in Hector, u in Raul, i in Valentin, a * * in Yanez, a in Janzen, and put a ~ on the n in Yanez also. * ****************************************************************** POLICE IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, ABUSE GAYS by Rex Wockner TIJUANA, Mexico -- Gays in Chihuahua, Mexico, are fighting back against aggressive police harassment. Chihuahua is 233 miles south of El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahua Homosexual Rights Defense Union has filed detailed complaints with the Chihuahua state Human Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico City. The state commission, in turn, sent a letter on behalf of the gay group to Chihuahua Mayor Patricio Martinez. According to the commission's letter, Chihuahua gays "have been living in a situation of hostility from the city police since late December." The letter said gays have suffered: "1. Raids on the bars they frequent. 2. Arbitrary detention in public streets at all hours of the day. 3. Arbitrary arrests in their homes. 4. Police extortions of between 200 and 400 new pesos ($31 to $62). 5. Mistreatment in jail. 6. Humiliations at the police station (including being) stripped and bathed with high-pressure hoses." The commission reminded the mayor that it recommended to city police in June 1993 that they "abstain from detaining any individual solely because they are dressed outlandishly." The commission added that the police actions violate rights guaranteed by the Mexican Constitution. In its letter to the national commission, the leaders of the gay group -- Hector Rodriguez, Raul Valentin Mundo Yanez and Hector Janzen -- elaborated on the police abuse. They stated: "1. From the moment we are detained we are thrown together with real criminals and sometimes tear-gassed. 2. Inside the jail, we have been attacked by miscreants and stripped, some of us violated in the presence of the police, who mock us instead of helping us. 3. Our clothes are taken from us and many times we cannot get them back. 4. We are not allowed to eat during the 36-hour detentions, much less receive visitors. 5. They fine us excessively, between 200 and 400 new pesos, an amount none of us can pay and therefore we have to stay 36 hours. 6. We have been washed down with high-pressure hoses for the simple pleasure of mocking us and seeing us tremble in the cold." The gay group requested that the national commission "send a recommendation to the police chief that he treat us like people and respect our right to walk freely on the street and go to our bars." == END ==