CAT/C/47/D/327/2007
1.3
On 13 August 2007, the Rapporteur on new communications and interim measures,
after thorough consideration of the observations submitted by the State party on 27 July
2007 and by the complainant, decided to withdraw the interim request.
1.4
On 17 September 2007, following a request by the complainant, the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights requested the State party to state what measures it
had taken to ensure that Mexico would honour its diplomatic assurances.
The facts as submitted by the complainant
2.1
In 1993, the complainant decided to move from Canada to live in Mexico, where he
remarried and transferred all of his assets. In 1998, after losing half of his savings, he
became involved in transporting marijuana. On 9 March 1998, the complainant was
arrested by the police, who found 583 kg of marijuana in his vehicle. A police officer beat
him and asked him to hand over US$ 25,000 and half of his cargo in exchange for allowing
him to continue on his way. At the police station, the complainant asserted, in vain, the
right to be represented by a Canadian lawyer. One police officer threatened to kill him if he
did not reveal the names of his accomplices and the origin and destination of his drugs.
Having refused to provide that information, the complainant was smothered with a plastic
bag, had various substances, including chilli sauce, inserted into his nose and was hit on the
head with a book. Subsequently, the complainant was forced to sign a statement in Spanish,
without knowing its contents. He was taken to prison that same day and received a medical
examination but, fearing retaliation by the police officer present at the examination, did not
mention the treatment he had received at the police station. After 72 hours in a cell with no
light, the complainant was taken to the prison infirmary, where he met two police officers
who had tortured him at the police station. They warned him not to report that he had been
tortured and threatened to kill him.
2.2
On 10 November 1998, the complainant was sentenced to 14 years in prison for
marijuana trafficking. The statement he had signed under torture was allegedly admitted as
evidence.
2.3
On 9 March 1999, he organized an escape, during which one of the two guards
assigned to him was killed. The complainant subsequently fled to Canada. On 1 March
2005, he was arrested at his home in Canada under a provisional warrant for his extradition
to Mexico. Mexico requested his extradition to complete his sentence and to face a charge
of homicide for the death of the prison guard and a charge of escape from legal custody. On
11 April 2005, the complainant submitted a request for bail, which was denied. The Court
of Appeal also dismissed his application. On 22 November 2005, the complainant was
imprisoned pending his extradition. On 23 January 2006, he presented his arguments to the
Minister of Justice, including two reports from psychologists confirming that he had been
tortured and that he showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress. He also submitted the
results of a polygraph test done by the Ottawa police department, which showed he was
telling the truth. On 24 May 2006, the Minister of Justice ordered his extradition in return
for diplomatic assurances by Mexico. The Court of Appeal of Québec dismissed an appeal
to have that decision reviewed and, on 5 July 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada refused
to allow an appeal against it.
2.4
On 17 August 2007, after the Committee lifted interim measures, the complainant
was extradited to Mexico and transferred to Zacatecas prison, the facility in which he was
accused of having killed a guard. Between 17 and 20 August 2007, the complainant was
tortured by prison guards and he was refused contact with the Canadian Embassy and his
lawyer. Fearing retaliation, the complainant did not openly report the ill-treatment.
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