October 14, 2009

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico (CDN) — Alonso Lopez Entzin, a Tzotzil-speaking Christian in Chiapas state, Mexico, spent 11 years and eight months in prison for a crime he did not commit. Accused of participating in the tragic "Acteal massacre" in December 1997 in which 45 persons died near San Cristobal de las Casas, he and more than 80 of his neighbors were summarily arrested and charged with the murders.
 
On Aug. 12, the Federal Supreme Court of Mexico ordered that Lopez Entzin and 19 other indigenous men accused in the Acteal killings - 18 are Christian, including Lopez Entzin - be freed from El Amate Penal facility in Chiapas. Their release came as a surprise to him and his fellow prisoners, as well as to thousands of people in Mexico and around the world advocating their release.
 
Of the 18 Christians released, only five were Christians when they were arrested; the rest came to trust in Christ while in prison. At least 27 innocent men who were Christians at the time of their arrest remain in prison, according to advocacy organizations.
 
"I thank God that I have been granted freedom," Lopez Entzin told Compass. "We are no longer imprisoned thanks to the power of God. There is no other person that has this kind of power, only God."
 
The court is reviewing the cases of another 31 men convicted in connection with the massacre. Six more defendants will be granted new trials.
 
"Right now we see the first fruits of our prayers," said Tomas Perez Mendez, another of the 20 freed prisoners. "We are confident in the Lord that the rest of the brothers are going to obtain their freedom as well."
 
Lopez Entzin added that winning their freedom will not be easy.
 
"When we were inside El Amate, we began to pray, fast and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ. There are thousands and thousands of brothers who prayed for us inside the jail - thank God He answered those prayers," he said through tears. "That's why those brothers who remain behind in El Amate believe that if God's will is done, they will soon be free."
 
Most of the remaining Acteal inmates are evangelical Protestant Christians sentenced to 25- and 36-year prison terms. For years, human rights advocates and legal experts have presented legal arguments showing that the men were convicted on dubious evidence. The district court of the state of Chiapas, however, has consistently ruled against the defendants in appeals.
 
Attorneys for the defendants finally succeeded in bringing the case before the Federal Supreme Court in Mexico City. The justices who reviewed the case found clear violations of due process and on Aug. 12 overturned the convictions in a 4-1 decision.
 
The court ruling stated that the decision was not a determination of the guilt or innocence of the men, only that their constitutional rights had been violated during their arrest and conviction.
 
Though grateful to be free at last, Agustin Gomez Perez admitted that prison was "very difficult, very difficult indeed."
 
"There inside the jail, everybody loses," Gomez Perez said. "I saw it. Many lost their wives, their families, their homes. In the years I was in jail I lost my son. It was May 7, 2005. Twelve families were traveling in a truck to visit us in El Amate. They had an accident, and my 3-year-old son Juan Carlos was killed."
 
Inmates expressed gratitude for church groups and international organizations that lent support to their families during their incarceration. Some groups supplied chicks, piglets and coffee plants for wives and children to raise on family plots. A volunteer team of doctors and nurses from Veracruz provides free treatment to prisoners and their dependents.
 
The prisoners said that one of the greatest helps was regular visits from their families. International Christian organizations raised money for bus fares and chartered vehicles to ensure that the prisoners' families, who could not otherwise afford the travel, saw their husbands and fathers as often as possible.
 
Normalcy Not Returned