Friday, January 10-
This morning we learned that Fallon, Carlos, and Amelie are now being held under a portion of Mexican Federal Law referred to as the ‘arraign’ that permits arbitrary detention without charge or evidence for a period of 40 days, which can be renewed one time, while under investigation by the Centro de Investigacion y Seguridad Nacional (CISEN), a branch of federal policing comparable to CSIS. During this period of detention without charge, our three friends are being held in a special detention centre under the authority of of the CISEN, and not in a regular prison.
The full implications of the their extended detention in this facility are not clear right now. However, it is likely that direct communication with the three arrested will be impossible, and we do not still know the limits on communication with our friends.
The ‘arraigo’ violates the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, denies the detained and their legal team the right to know the charges and evidence against them, and has permitted the state to detain people in specific ‘arraigo’ detention centres that at times have included hotels, private residences, and military facilities. Often, the location of these facilities is kept secret. The ‘arraigo’ has also been compared to security certificates in Canada.
This sort of arbitrary detention gives the state absolute authority to abuse, torture, extort, and otherwise mistreat detainees, and there have been thousands of reports of abuse under the ‘arraigo’. It has been described as a ‘licence to torture’, and has been denounced by the U.N.
Despite this horrifying news, both Fallon and Carlos have released strong and encouraging letters to friends, which can be viewed at fuegoalascarceles.wordpress.com (spanish) and http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/blog/stimulator/20757; http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/blog/stimulator/20758 (english/french). They talk of being interrogated by police, but as Fallon says in her letter, ‘silence is stronger than repression’. Show your solidarity with our imprisoned friends and comrades. An international day of solidarity with the 5E3 has been called for next friday, January 17th.
‘I know anarchist solidarity is strong like an oak tree, and that always goes farther than simple words.’
–Carlos López “El Chivo”
325 Collective