Media Barred in Lawsuit Against Filmmaker Who Blasted Mexico's Courts Latin American Herald Tribune
go to original July 11, 2013

Jose Antonio “Toño” Zuñiga (David Rochkind/The New York Times)

MEXICO CITY – A judge this week barred the media from a court hearing in a moral damage lawsuit filed against a Mexican filmmaker, whose 2010 documentary shed light on a lack of due process in her homeland.

The ruling by the judge overseeing the case, Maria del Rosario Mancera Perez, affected a hearing in which evidence was presented against lawyer-turned-filmmaker Layda Negrete.

The case concerns the film “Presunto culpable” (Presumed Guilty), made by Negrete and Roberto Hernandez, which tells the dramatic story of Jose Antonio “Toño” Zuñiga, sentenced to 20 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

Zuñiga was ultimately released after Negrete and Hernandez – also an attorney – took up his case and exposed as false the testimony of key prosecution witness Victor Daniel Reyes, who is now suing the filmmakers for more than 200 million pesos ($15 million).

Read the rest at Latin American Herald Tribune

Read Related: Documentary Takes Look at Mexico's Justice System, Earns Creators Flood of Lawsuits

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