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LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT:
Mr. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Dear President Calderón:
I am writing to you to request your intervention in the case involving Mr. Sergio Alfonso Dorantes Zurita who has been the victim of a false accusation by the authorities of the PGJDF, blaming him for the murder of his wife. Due to the persecution of Mr. Dorantes, he has chosen to go into hiding to avoid detention.
I request that the charge against Mr. Dorantes be withdrawn for the following reasons:
• The initial investigation concluded that he was not responsible for the crime
• There isn’t any evidence against him
• The only evidence that the PGJDF has against him is the dubious testimony of an “eyewitness” who, according to the police, saw Mr Dorantes fleeing the crime scene. His statement, which he made 30 days after the murder, was not corroborated by anyone. In June 2006, this “eyewitness” admitted to an MP agent from the Fiscalia de Servidores Públicos that he had lied. He confirmed that in August 2003 Ms. María del Rocío García, an MP agent from the Fiscalia de Coyoacán paid him $1,000 Pesos to make the statement incriminating Mr. Dorantes.
The behavior of the PGJDF and the penal system of Mexico suggests that Mr. Dorantes cannot expect an honest and fair trial. There is no reason for him to be arrested and detained now that there is evidence that the charge against him was fabricated by the PGJDF. If Mr. Dorantes were to be detained, he has justifiable reason to fear that he would be subjected to torture and forced to confess to a crime he did not commit.
It must be pointed out that on December 4, 2005, the Spanish newspaper El País, published an article about the corruption in the Mexican justice system. The headline was “Guilty without any evidence: a Mexican story”. The investigation in this article reported the irregularities, contradictions, and unfairness that have harmed Mr. Dorantes’ case. Be assured that more articles on this case will be published soon. This case is already drawing international attention.
Human Rights organizations, politicians, and common citizens in both the Spanish and English speaking worlds are watching the conduct of the police, judges, and the judicial system of Mexico. It is not only Sergio Dorantes who is on trial, it is the whole Mexican judicial system.
For the reasons enumerated above, it is not possible that Mr. Dorantes is guilty of the charge attributed to him. Therefore, I ask that the charge against him be withdrawn immediately.
Your attention to this case will help to improve the system of justice in México.
Yours sincerely,
Your name
LETTER TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
Doctor Miguel Ángel Mancera Espinosa
Gral. Gabriel Hernández # 56, 5º piso,
Col. Doctores, C.P. 06720,
5345-5500, 5345-5557,
MEXICO
Fax 5345-5558
Dear Doctor Mancera Espinosa,
In your inauguration speech as head of the PGJDF, you admitted that: “I will act immediately. My priorities are those assigned to me by México City’s Chief of Government, and to deeply reform and restructure the Mexico City District Attorney’s Office (PGJDF)”.
I understand that you are eager to win back the trust of the capital’s citizens. For this reason I am respectfully asking for your personal attention and help in the case of the well known photojournalist, Sergio Dorantes.
The crime of which he is accused was committed on the 2nd of July 2003. It was the murder of his wife Alejandra Dehesa, who worked as the administrator at the Mexico City’s bureau of Newsweek magazine.
In January 2004 the Fiscalía Desconcentrada Coyoacán - 2, blamed Mr. Dorantes for the murder.
The irregularities committed by the MP in this case have been presented on several occasions to the PGJDF by Mr. Dorantes lawyer and also by the Mexico City’s Human Rights Commission.
Now there is concrete evidence that Mr. Dorantes was the victim of a fabrication by a MP agent from the Fiscalía Coyoacán – 2, in 2003. The Averiguación Previa started by the MP Lic. Juan Gabriel Olvera Nájera from the Fiscalía de Servidores Públicos de la PGJDF, proved that an MP agent called María del Rocío García from the Fiscalía Coyoacán – 1 working in 2003, paid 1,000 Pesos to an “eyewitness.” In exchange for this bribe, the man made a false statement incriminating Mr. Dorantes. The bogus “eyewitness statement” is the only evidence that the MP has against Mr. Dorantes.
The many people who support Mr. Dorantes in Mexico and abroad are convinced of his honesty, ethics and professionalism. They have never believed he was guilty of murder.
I therefore ask that the honorable institution that you lead withdraws the arraignment order against him and recognizes his innocence immediately.
The unfair accusation against Mr. Dorantes has violated not only his human rights but destroyed the successful career of a distinguished Mexican, whose example is unique in the history of Latin American photojournalism.
I ask you to take action to show your respect for law and justice in the case of Mr. Dorantes. Exonerating him will prove to the capital’s citizens that the institution you chair respects human rights and acts with honesty and integrity.
Dr. Mancera Espinosa, this case is an opportunity for you to demonstrate to the public that the institution under your authority, the PGJDF, really is changing.
I look forward the immediate acknowledgement of Mr. Dorantes’ innocence.
Yours Sincerely,
<Your name>