Set the prisoners free

Diego Arcos Meneses was wrongly accused of murder - he was imprisoned for a year and tortured before our partner Frayba secured his release . [CAFOD]

Find out how our partner Frayba is working to free political prisoners and others who have been unjustly imprisoned in Mexico

In some Mexican states, such as Chiapas, people still find themselves behind bars simply for expressing a political view - and those from poorer indigenous communities are especially vulnerable.

Most people in Chiapas are indigenous and many do not speak Spanish - the language of the law. Blanca Martinez and others from our partner Frayba, work to help those accused. Blanca says poor communities cannot afford to employ legal help, and that racism is rife.

Political motives

“In some cases, imprisonment may be related to political motives. Political leaders may be imprisoned or even ‘disappear’.

"It can be used to quieten political opposition to issues such as land rights, funding or better conditions for farming land, because organisations have to channel their energy into freeing prisoners instead.

“The work in Chiapas is about giving them hope, a sense of building justice, organisation and a new type of politics. Change is happening little by little and to see this gave me hope, too."

In an indigenous community if you’re accused of something – for example, stealing coffee from someone else’s crop – everyone who knows anything about it is first consulted, plus everyone who knows the person accused of the crime. The issue is discussed in detail to try and reach the truth and then judged in an assembly if necessary.

“I had to learn about the indigenous view of justice. The person responsible for a crime must accept responsibility for their actions. The community will then decide the punishment – for example, community work.

"If the person is very poor and cannot return what they have stolen then they decide how much should be repaid, how, and over what time.

“In the indigenous communities they may imprison you in a small room as punishment but the maximum is for three days. The isolation is seen as a means of public humiliation."

The indigenous view of imprisonment is far removed from that of the Mexican state - Frayba has successfully freed many political prisoners from state prison, including some who had been imprisoned for as long as ten years despite being innnocent.

"Some prisoners were on hunger strike, and there was a permanent demonstration to put pressure on the government - the church of the diocese of San Cristobal organised a pilgrimage with 10,000 people.

“The government complained the campaign was 'anti-government' and refused to free the political prisoners. We helped by denouncing the situation in the prisons and asking for the freedom of political prisoners.

“We worked with thousands of people to speak up for those unjustly imprisoned and, due to worldwide campaigning, a deal was brokered with Mexico’s government, which freed 145 prisoners."

Read our account of Frayba’s success in 2008

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