Amnesty International Calls for Investigation of Deaths by Mexican Army EFE
go to original March 30, 2013

Daniel Zapico, a representative of Amnesty International's Mexico chapter, is shown in this file photo. (EFE)

MEXICO CITY - Amnesty International is calling for a "complete and impartial" investigation into the shooting deaths in northern Mexico of two young people who perished earlier this month at the hands of army troops.

In a statement, the London-based rights group said the relatives of the victims, who fear their loved ones may have been targeted in a reprisal attack, "are calling for a thorough investigation amid signs they may have been tortured and illegally executed."

The two young people - one aged 23 and an adolescent whose age was not specified - were shot and killed "in unclear circumstances" by Mexican army troops on the outskirts of the border city of Nuevo Laredo on March 18, AI said Thursday.

Authorities said the victims died in a shootout and that weapons were discovered in their vehicle, adding that a judicial inquiry has been opened based on the military report on the incident.

But, according to AI, when the father of one of the victims went to the site of the killings, a witness told him the young people "had been illegally executed by the soldiers after being tortured."

Later, upon identifying his son's body, the man verified the apparent signs of torture and filed a complaint with the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee and the National Human Rights Commission.

"Amnesty International is calling on authorities to guarantee the safety of the victims' family members, witnesses and the local organization accompanying the case," as well as for "a complete and impartial investigation into the deaths," the statement read.

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