SUMMARY

An undetermined number of transvestites were arrested in Monterrey, capital of the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in the early hours of Tuesday, April 24. Arbitrary arrest; bribes; physical, psychological and sexual abuse; inhuman conditions of detention; deprivation of property, at the hands of police officers are a daily occurrence for gay men, lesbians and transvestites in Monterrey. Local and international human rights organizations have appealed to the authorities in an effort to stop such abuses, obtaining only promises but no effective action.
ACTION

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) asks for letters to authorities in Monterrey, demanding an immediate end to persecution of lesbians, gay men, and transvestites.

Please write to:

Major of Monterrey
Lic. Felipe de Jesús Cantú,

alcalde@monterrey.gob.mx

State Police Chief Commander
Javier Garza Morúa

seguridadpublica@mail.nl.gob.mx

Please send copies to:

Identidad Saludable A.C.

soydiverso@hotmail.com

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender -including transsexual and transvestite (GLBT) people in Monterrey live in fear. Most of those who have been abused by police officers have also been threatened with further abuse if they report the abuse. Local and international human rights organizations have documentation, including names, dates and addresses of victims--and in some case, of perpetrators as well-- but will only reveal them if due protection for the denouncers is guaranteed by the civilian authorities. All testimonies are coded. The following information was gathered by IGLHRC on a documentation gathering trip to Monterrey in February 2001 and bylocal organizations like OASIS, a Diversity Center in Monterrey - a project sponsored by GESS (Género, Etica y Sexualidad A.C.), Identidad Saludable A.C. -an NGO working on human rights issues for GLBT and HIV+ people in the Monterrey area, and the lesbian group Gemas.

Arbitrary arrest and extortion

Transvestites, transsexuals and gay men are arrested regularly in the streets of Monterrey, mainly because of their appearance (i.e. looking "effeminate" and/or wearing women's clothes). To wear the opposite sex's clothes is not a contravention or a crime in Monterrey; arrests are then justified almost in all cases charging victims with "administrative contraventions" that are never specified or with "performing sex work in public", without any proof other than: a condom found in the pocket of a man (as in Case # 2), the transvestite identity of the person in question (Case # 1) or the presence of women in a place where alcoholic beverages are sold (Cases # 3 and 13).

When police officers stop a gay man or a transvestite in the street, he/she is usually taken to the police car by force and then ordered to give money to the officers in order to avoid arrest. ˆThe standard amount is Mexican Pesos (MXP) (US$30), the same amount which must be paid as fine for administrative contraventions (those mentioned in the Police and Good Government Regulations). In cases like # 8 (a gay couple arrested for holding hands in a park) or # 10 (a transvestite arrested while she was shopping at a supermarket), police officers negotiated lower fines (150 in the former, 150 in the later) and refused to give the victims any receipt. In case #9, police officers charged the arrested transvestite $ 250 and gave her a receipt for $100. In case # 5, Judiciary Police (which deals with crimes as defined by the Penal Code, in opposition to local police which deals with contraventions as defined by the Police and Good Gov. Regulations) broke into a private gay party without any search warrant, searched the place for drugs, found nothing and proceeded to threaten the 11 men who were at the house with public exposure on TV Azteca (one of the two main Mexican TV networks). The episode ended with the men paying MXP 10,000 (US $1,051) in bribes.

Abuse

Verbal

Police officers treat GLBTs by addressing them as "pinche puto" (Cases # 2, 9, 10), telling them "We are bringing you here because you are dirty lesbians" (case # 3) "pinche jota operated, you will never have children" (to a transsexual woman in Case # 4), "chingaderas, pendejos, leandros" (Case # 8). Note: all the terms in Spanish are very offensive.

Sexual

Police officers have touched victims' butts while interrogating and threatening them with arrest (Case #1), or touched his genitals while the victim was in the police car and under interrogation (Cases #2 and 7), videotaped arrested women who had been stripped of their clothes while they were being searched by female janitors (Cases # 3 and 13); made victims to choose between having sex with officers or being arrested (Case # 1 and 12; in this last case, the victims were two 14 years old boys).

Physical

In Case # 4, the victim was examined by a Red Cross doctor immediately after 3 police officers attempted to bribe her and severely beat her as she resisted. In cases # 9 and 10, the victims report three incidents in which police officers beat one of them with a police stake to the point of fracturing her skull, tear-gassed a group of transvestites that were having a private party to get them out of their house and charge them with "public indecency", and beat one of them in the face so badly that her nose was broken. They also remarked that in some cases, they get beaten but not arrested, to avoid the medical examination that routinely takes place when a person is arrested.

Threats

Police officers have threatened victims with "coming back and shoot them all" (Case # 5) or called family members of the victims, threatening them with arrest or damages to their physical integrity if the victims pursue legal actions against them (Case # 4).

Robbery

Police officers have robbed victims of their property in the following situations: in Case # 5, $ 10,000 MXP 10,000 (US $1,051 in electronic equipment was taken out of the victim's home; in cases # 9 and 10, several items belonging to the victims were not given back to them after detention: jewelry, stockings, wigs, a purse containing $75; on a different occasion, a cellular phone and $ 500 were taken by the police during a house search. In Case #9, police officers stopped a transvestite and her client, threatened them with arrest, drove them to an ATM and forced the client to take money out of his account and give it to the officers. In case #10, a similar situation is described.

Conditions of detention

In cases # 9 and 10, victims noted that 20 transvestites were kept in a 3 x 3 jail, no blankets were delivered to them during the night and no food was distributed, other than what their families brought (part of which was taken by the policemen for their own use). They also reported that illegal immigrants (mostly Central Americans) did not get any food or even water. In case # 13, those arrested were denied their right to make a phone call and 32 women were kept in a cell meant for 4 people

Legal framework

The human rights violations perpetrated by police officers and described above are penalized by the Nuevo Leon Penal Code. Civilian authorities are mandated to conduct a fair investigation and duly sanction those officers found guilty of different crimes such as: abuse of office/authority (Art. 209), intimidation (Art. 214), trespass (Art. 295), black-mailing (Art. 395), torture (Art. 321 bis), threats (Art. 291), sexual harassment (Art.271 bis). Higher authorities, such as the Chief Commander, are responsible under the Nuevo Leon Penal Code for not "impeding the torture of a person under his custody" (Art.321 bis 3).

Alleged police abuses also violate rights that are protected by the Nuevo Leon Constitution. Its Art. 15 protects the right to be free from "interference with one's person, family, domicile, papers or possessions…" unless a "written order by competent authority" motivates legal procedures. The same article establishes that "premises can only be searched after the Judiciary has issued a written order". And its Art. 20 forbids "for ever .. torture in any of its manifestations, disproportionate fines, confiscation of property…". It also states that "any mistreatment during arrest or while in prison, any legally unjustified annoyance, any material contribution demanded from inmates, are abuses that shall be corrected by law and repressed by the authorities" (Art. 18).

Local authorities are further obliged by Art. 25, where the State is compelled "in every moment" to "protect the integrity and rights of the people", overseeing that "police actions are ruled by the principles of lawfulness, efficiency, professionalism and honesty".

The federal Mexican Constitution also protects the right to freedom from arbitrary detention and to not be deprived of one's property (Art. 14), freedom from unlawful interference and searches (Art. 16) and from torture (Art. 22). The Federal Penal Code also considers punishable crimes the abuse of authority (Art. 215), extortion (Art. 218) and intimidation (Art. 219) committed by public officers. Art. 200 penalizes those who "force other to perform indecent acts" and specifies that if the perpetrator is a public officers and/or the victim is under 16, the punishment has to be increased 1/3.

Moreover, Mexico has ratified regional and international treaties that bind its authorities to protect the rights of inhabitants, without discrimination of any kind, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (non-discrimination, Art. 2; right to liberty and security of person Art. 3; right to be free from arbitrary arrest, Art. 9; right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty, Art. 11; right to privacy, Art. 12). The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the American Convention on Human Rights afford the same protections to all human beings, "without distinctions of any kind" (ICCPR, Art. 2.1).

Under The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, State officials are mandated to:

• Take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction (Art. 2)
• Ensure that education and information regarding the prohibition against torture are fully included in the training of law enforcement personnel (Art. 10)
• Keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form or arrest, detention or imprisonment … to prevent any cases of torture (Art. 11).
• Ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected to torture … has the right to complain to, and to have his case promptly and impartially examined by, its competent authorities … that the complainant and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation … (Art. 13)