Live
Audio Only
The NYT reported that Israel refuses to extradite Tomas Zeron in retaliation for Mexico's vote in favor of investigating the crisis generated by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestinian territories.
On Thursday, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) asked Israel to process the extradition request of Tomas Zeron, the former director of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) who is accused of irregular actions during the investigation of 43 missing students in Ayotzinapa.
RELATED:
"There has been no response yet. I hope the Government of Israel respects human rights because we are requesting the extradition of a public official who is accused of torture and other crimes," AMLO said.
In September 2020, Mexico requested the extradition of Zeron who hid evidence and tortured witnesses of what happened in Ayotzinapa in 2014, when drug dealers abducted and murdered 43 students of the local pedagogical institute. The process has been slow because Mexico has no extradition treaty with Israel.
Last week, the New York Times reported that Israel refuses to extradite Zeron in retaliation for Mexico’s recent vote at the United Nations in favor of investigating the crisis generated by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestinian territories.
Targeted killings of human rights defenders were reported in #Mexico and #Honduras last week.https://t.co/8YBzAil14v
— Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (@ACLEDINFO) July 15, 2021
Israel’s Ambassador Zvi Tal yet denied this information, stating that his country does not involve political considerations in dealing with extradition requests.
On Thursday, AMLO acknowledged that resolving the Ayotzinapa case is one of the big pending issues he has had since taking office in December 2018.
Besides being involved in the murder case, Zeron is accused of embezzlement of public funds for US$50 million. Despite the existing evidence, he argues that both charges are part of a political persecution plan against him for having been part of the right-wing government headed by Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).
After fleeing to Canada as a first stop, the AIC former director took refuge in Israel, where he has been seeking political asylum for two years.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Mexico: Authorities detained the former mayor involved in the Ayotzinapa 43 case. pic.twitter.com/Ryq0E2BUyb
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) December 17, 2020
Newsletter
