United Nations Special Rapporteur Urges Probe Into Monterrey Prison Riot IANS
go to original February 17, 2016

Juan E. Mendez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, speaks during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations. (Keystone/Martial Trezzini)

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Mendez has called on Mexican authorities to carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into last week's deadly prison riot.

The investigation into the February 11 incident at the Topo Chico prison in Monterrey, capital of north Nuevo Leon state, which left at least 49 inmates dead, aims to uncover the causes of the massacre and identify those responsible, whether prison staff or other inmates, Xinhua reported.

"I urge Mexican authorities to guarantee the right of the families to know the truth about what happened, to quickly identify those who died whose names are as yet unknown, to deliver in a dignified way the remains of those killed and to provide quality medical attention to the injured," Mendez said in a statement published by media outlets.

"The investigation should also lead to reparations for the victims and their families, including guarantees such an incident will not happen again and that it will lead to a substantial improvement of the prison's conditions," he added.

Mendez had inspected Topo Chico in April of 2014 and warned prison officials of the precarious situation at the facility, including a lack of oversight that generated an air of chaos and gave groups within the prison too much control.

Read the rest at Mexico News.Net

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!