Six Ñañhu indigenous people, a civilian and a human rights defender were arbitrarily and violently detained by municipal police during an operation carried out in the capital of Querétaro on the morning of Friday, October 25.
The video of the events was spread on social networks, in which around a dozen police officers can be seen in the company of canine pairs, some without muzzles, carrying out the eviction of the indigenous people, who are dedicated to the trade of their crafts in the center of the state capital and who are fighting to maintain their work spaces.
The arrest was carried out in the midst of shoving and pushing in which several people who witnessed the event tried to intercede on behalf of the aggrieved, however, some civilians were also affected in the brawl, including women who were carrying their babies in their arms.
This operation, called “Historic Center,” was carried out for the first time in the capital of Querétaro with the objective of freeing the streets of street vendors. According to the technical secretary of the Government Secretariat, Juan Carlos Arreguín, the objective is for citizens and visitors to enjoy a center without obstacles and to recover public spaces.
It should be noted that, before the arrival of the police, a group of indigenous people were demonstrating in the center of the capital of Querétaro against the start of said operation, since previously they were in the crafts market and denounced not being supported by the mayor.
During the altercation, some of the indigenous people who were protesting against the operation were also violently evicted by the police to be transferred to the Public Ministry.
For its part, the Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations (UN) in Mexico reported that they are already monitoring the situation to ensure that the rights and freedoms of indigenous people, protesters and observers arrested this afternoon in Querétaro are respected.
“We are aware of the arrest of at least nine people today in Querétaro, including indigenous people, protesters and human rights observers. From the UN-DH we are monitoring the situation to ensure that their fundamental rights and freedoms are respected.”
Comité Cerezo México requests that those responsible for the arrest be investigated
The Human Rights organization, Comité Cerezo México, denounced the arrest of the 6 indigenous people, belonging to the Bloque Disidente organization, who were evicted at 11:00 a.m. with the use of canine pairs, among whom were:
Esteban Vargas Vargas.
César Islas Pacheco.
Edgar Chino Ciriaco.
Sergio Laureano Francisco.
Sergio Chino Ciriaco.
Some time after the brawl, around 1:25 p.m., the human rights defender Cristian Jesús Pérez Romero, from the Colectivo Comida No Bombas Querétaro, and the university student Odanny Guadalupe Soto Esguerra, who was documenting the human rights violations committed by the security elements, were arrested.
For this reason, the Cerezo Committee Mexico requested that the Government take immediate measures to guarantee the safety of the detained persons, investigate and punish those responsible for arbitrary detentions and establish actions to guarantee the Human Rights of individuals in general.
Source: infobae
