Indigenous Prisoner in Struggle Marcelino Ruiz Gómez Denied Early Release

Statement from Indigenous Tzotzil prisoner in struggle, Marcelino Ruiz Gómez, after being denied early release.

November 17, 2020

To the Zapatista Army of National Liberation

To the National and International Civil Society

To the National and International Sixth

To the National Indigenous Congress

To the Indigenous Governing Council

To the Media

To the Believers

To the People of Mexico and the World

Today, at approximately 1:00pm, I was informed by the lawyer Rosario of a notice sent by the reconciliation board, from the teacher Rafael León González. There he stated that it was not possible to suspend my sentence and grant me my freedom. It is clear that he has not taken into account the crimes that have been prefabricated against me or that I am a victim of torture, unjustly imprisoned and separated from my family for 14 years and 11 months.

Prison is one of the strategies of the government and this corrupt system to repress Indigenous peoples. We are a nuisance to them because of our resistance to their capitalist system. Their objective is our annihilation using diverse strategies. One of them is imprisonment based on prefabricated crimes and torture to force the acceptance of guilt.

For this reason, since March 15^th, 2019, we have been organized and in resistance from inside these four walls, to struggle against injustice and mistreatment, demanding our freedom from the murderous and repressive government.

That is why we will continue in our encampment of struggle and resistance, and we will not be silenced. We will continue raising our voices until justice is done and the chains of oppression of the bad government are broken.

That is why I ask for the intervention of the Fray Bartolomé Human Rights Organization, and I want to thank them for being attentive to our situation. I also want to thank the working group No Estamos Todxs for their accompaniment in this journey.

Brothers, sisters, compañeras and compañeros of the different organizations and collectives, receive a combative salute from our space of struggle.

Until we are all free!

Long Live Zapata!

Long Live Samir!

Sincerely,

Marcelino Ruiz Gómez