Yecenia Armenta Graciano in Mexico Yecenia has spent the last three years in prison after she was arrested and forced to sign a false confession. Demand that Yecenia be released and that those who tortured her must stand trial. On the 10th of July 2012, Yecenia was on the way to the airport with her sister and sister-inlaw when she was stopped by the police and told that the car was reported stolen. Yecenia was forced into a police car where she was handcuffed and blindfolded. The policemen separated the three women and forced Yecenia into a different car. They accused her of having killed her own husband, who had been shot in the streets a week earlier. She denied the accusations. Yecenia was then driven to an unknown location where the policemen continued to interrogate her while they choked and beat her. She fainted several times. Since Yecenia still denied having killed her husband, the violence escalated. She was stripped naked and raped. They continued to beat her while she was hanging upside down by her feet. After 15 hours of torture and sexual violence, the police threatened to hurt her family. Due to the threats, she finally gave into the demands and confessed. The policemen then took Yecenia to a new location, where she signed the confession without knowing what it said, as she was still blindfolded. The arrest of Yecenia was only officially registered hours after she signed the confession. Everyone that is arrested shall, after interrogations, be examined by a

doctor, to ensure that they have come to no harm during the interrogations. The problem was that the doctors who conducted the routine examination of Yecenia were from the same office that those who arrested her. The doctors therefore concluded that Yecenia had no injuries and therefore believed that she had not been subjected to torture. In September 2012, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) examined Yecenia’s case. The IRCT, which consist of independent forensic experts, believe that there is clear evidence that Yecenia was tortured. This led to the public prosecutor in Sinaloa announcing that her case would be taken to court. The case has been sent to the Supreme Court, but is still unclear what the outcome will be. Still, no one has been convicted of torturing her. Yecenia is still accused of having killed her husband and therefore remains imprisoned pending trial. The only evidence of Yecenia being guilty is the confession she gave after several hours of torture. Amnesty International demands that the charges against Yecenia are dropped and that she is released from prison. In addition, Amnesty demands that a full investigation of the policemen who interrogated Yecenia is initiated, and that the investigation is prompt, thorough and impartial.

GI HÅP OG KREV RETTFERDIGHET WRITE A LETTER OF SOLIDARITY TO YECENIA:

Yecenia appreciates all solidarity messages written to her, in all languages, but prefer letters in Spanish. In your letter you can include:

Estimada Yecenia

He conocido la terrible injusticia que se está cometiendo en tu contra. Deseo fervientemente que puedas recuperar tu libertad y que las personas que te torturaron sean llevadas ante la justicia. Dear Yecenia, I have learned about the terrible injustices you’ve been exposed to. I really hope that you can be set free and that those who tortured you will be brought to justice.

Write to the public prosecutor in Sinaloa, Mexico:

The demands: • Prosecutors carry out a full, prompt and impartial investiagtion into the torture suffered Yecenia and bring all those responsible to justice, • Drop the charges against Yecenia Armenta Graciano and release her. • Mexico’s research and treatment of torture victims made in accordance with international standards such as the UN recommendations and Istanbul Protocol , as they have promised for years • Public Prosecutions Procuraduría General de la Republica ( PGR ) change procedures in official forensic examination , so that they comply with international standards , and ensures that the official forensic experts are independent of PGR Write to: Marco Antonio Higuera Gómez, Sinaloa State Attorney General Procurador General de Justicia del Estado Sinaloa Titelform: Dear Sinaloa State Attorney General, Marco Antonio Higuera Gómez Send the letters to: Amnesty International Norge Att. Yecenia Armenta Graciano Postboks 702 Sentrum 0106 Oslo Suggested tweets: Estimado @gobsinaloa,por favor libere Yecenia Armenta Graciano e investigue la tortura a la que fue sometida #SkrivForLiv #W4R #StopTorture

Dear @gobsinaloa, please release Yecenia Armenta Graciano and investigate the torture she was exposed to. #SkrivForLiv #W4R #stoptorture