Ambika Bhardwaj
Published On: December 25, 2021 at 18:19 IST
According to the state attorney general’s office, a Court in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas sentenced two army officers to 30 years in prison for femicide in the death of a female soldier. According to the Attorney General’s office, in addition to the jail terms, the Court ordered the army captains to pay a fine of nearly 520,000 pesos ($25,194) each for killing the 28-year-old woman in April 2019.
Femicide is described in Mexican law as the Murder of a woman as a result of gender-based violence. Femicides have risen sharply under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, after rising sharply during the previous administration’s final years. In an assertion, the Attorney General’s office recognised the accused as Jose Antonio “N” and Agustin “N,” leaving out their surnames as is customary in Mexico.
The two men were army captains, according to a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office. Convictions of soldiers are uncommon in Mexico, where the armed forces are considered as an institution. “It is very unexpected to have verdicts approved against the military for human rights violations,” said Raul Benitez, a security expert at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM). “And even more rare in the case of femicide. “Since Lopez Obrador took office in December 2018, pledging to pacify Mexico after years of increasing conflict, the army has taken on more duties.
Critics claim the military has been protected from prosecution for human rights violations, especially those committed since previous President Felipe Calderon dispatched the armed forces to crack down on Mexico’s powerful drug gangs 15 years ago.
Mexico’s government denies this, saying it is committed to holding all criminals to account.