- It is the fourth time that the Judicial Branch has ordered the Sinaloa State Attorney General’s Office to comply with it.
- The sentence is given within the framework of the decision of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) that recognizes the mandatory nature of the Urgent Actions of the UN CED Committee.
- We recognize due diligence and the application of national and international standards in the matter of forced disappearance by the Fifth District Court.
Mexico City, September 8, 2021.- The Fifth District Court based in the State of Sinaloa exhorted and required the State Attorney General (FGE Sinaloa) —for the fourth time in the last two years— to comply with Urgent Actions of the UN Committee against Forced Disappearance (CED Committee), issued since July 10, 2015, for the forced disappearance of David Mendoza Marín, Margarita Marín Yan and Alfredo Elías Marín in the municipality of Ahome, Sinaloa.
The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Sinaloa has repeatedly failed to comply with what was indicated by the judicial authority, which has impeded progress in the investigations and the clarification of the facts. In September 2019, the same Court pointed out the breach of Amparo 64/2018, which ordered it to implement the Urgent Actions requested by the CED Committee. Subsequently, the judge ordered the immediate execution of the arrest warrants against the three elements of the municipal police identified as responsible for the forced disappearance of the three youths, where he denounced – once again – the omission of ministerial authority. In February 2021, it ordered its observance and compliance for the third time after the CED Committee requested information on the actions carried out in matters of investigation, punishment of those responsible, and comprehensive care for the victims.
Given the reluctance of the FGE Sinaloa to comply with its obligations, the new sentence takes place after the decision of the First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN). Decision possible due to the Amparo under review (action or a resource that protects the constitutional rights of the citizen) 1077/2019 – litigated by IDHEAS—, which establishes the mandatory nature of the measures and Urgent Actions requested by the CED Committee for all the authorities in charge of the investigation and search for disappeared persons.
Urgent Actions are a humanitarian mechanism provided for in the UN International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, demanding that States take all necessary measures – and immediately – to search for and locate a disappeared person investigate his disappearance. Currently, Mexico has 423 Urgent Action requests for the search and location of missing persons. That is why the decision of the SCJN is an essential step in recognizing victims’ rights of disappearance to be searched and reaffirms the obligation of the State to act with due diligence. We acknowledge the Fifth District Court for the application of this criterion in the exercise of its functions.
Finally, we make an attentive call to the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Sinaloa to comply with the sentence of the Fifth District Court and with the provisions of the SCJN. In the same way, we urge that all authorities adopt this criterion within the scope of their competence and promote due diligence in the search and investigation of cases of enforced disappearance.
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On July 21, 2015, David Mendoza Marín, Margarita Marín Yan, and Alfredo Elías Marín were detained by elements of the Municipal Police of Ahome, Sinaloa. They put them on a patrol car and later on a compact car. Until 2018 his whereabouts were unknown.
In August of that year, the group «Trackers for Peace» located David’s, Alfredo’s, and Margarita’s remains in the «Las Gruyas» property, located north of Sinaloa. The young people’s family recognized the remains and received them for burial on January 29, 2019.
Originally from Juárez City, Chihuahua, David, Margarita, and Alfredo were dedicated to selling used cars; They had traveled to Mazatlán in search of better economic conditions and later changed their residence to Los Mochis, Sinaloa. For more information: idheas.org.mx/laciones-derechos-humanos/desaparicion-forzada-y-de-particulares/familia-marin-yan/