MEXICO: MILITARY GENERAL WHO CRITICISED ARMY COURT MARTIALLED скачать в хорошем качестве

MEXICO: MILITARY GENERAL WHO CRITICISED ARMY COURT MARTIALLED

(12 Mar 1998) Spanish/Nat A military general who criticised Mexico's army was court martialled on Wednesday and sentenced to 14 years for stealing horse feed. Proceedings against Jose Francisco Gallardo took place at a military base in northern Mexico City. Human rights groups said after the hearing that judicial powers had been used unfairly to silence a critic. General Jose Francisco Gallardo arrived in court on Wednesday to receive sentence in a case that has shocked international human rights activists. Gallardo stood charged with stealing horse feed from the army while he was commander of cavalry stables in 1988, and of burning files to cover his tracks. Human rights groups condemned these as trumped up charges after the defendant published a thesis in 1993 calling for an ombudsman to scrutinise military activities. The court martial was televised in a bid to ensure Gallardo's trial was open and fair. But Gallardo was sentenced to 14 years in prison, fired from the army and banned from military service for ten years. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "The prison sentence decreed begins to count from the 9 of November 1993. The sentence will have to be spent in the military prison of that area or wherever the national secretary of defence considers more appropriate." SUPER CAPTION: Judge Brigadier General Nelson Alejandro Ramirez Gallardo's critical views of army standards had also been published in a dissertation he wrote titled "Respect for human rights and national security." In 1993 he was accused of defamation for articles he wrote about the army, but a civilian court acquitted him. Human rights groups say this latest trial has been to silence him. Gallardo's lawyer and family has said there will be an appeal. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "What we were expecting happened, because even before the court martial, there was direct influence (from the National Secretary of Defence). They sentenced him. What I was not expecting was that they would sentence him the maximum - 14 years and 8 months. Of course, it is not over. We have got to continue and appeal before the military and federal courts, no? And also, national and international public opinion counts." SUPER CAPTION: Marco Gallardo, son of General Gallardo The Inter-American Human Rights Commission has previously urged the army to release Gallardo. The army refused. The commission has also recommended that Gallardo be compensated for the violation of his rights and called for the punishment of those behind the trial. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...