“There is Much Left to Do”: From Tortured Prisoner to Advocate for Justice in Mexico

Detained in 2002 by State Police of Tlaxcala, east-central Mexico, and accused of kidnapping, Oswvaldo was water boarded and electrocuted until he falsely confessed to being a member of a drugs gang. Osvaldo was innocent of this crime. The police also targeted his family.

“I also heard the screams of people in other rooms, and I became desperate from hearing the voice of my father as he screamed,” said Osvaldo, in an interview filmed by Mexican NGO the Collective Against Torture and Impunity (CCTI). He was sentenced to 77 years in prison.

After 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, CCTI helped secure Oswvaldo's acquittal and release. “The most difficult aspect of torture is not really the beatings. It's more the damage that leaves you marked for the rest of your life,” he said. “I would prefer not to feel it. Fear of not knowing where next ... I still need to do a lot of work. There is much left to do.”

In 2017, Mexico passed anti-torture legislation that prohibits the use of confessions obtained under torture. But a 2021 report by OMCT found Mexico's Attorney General's Office remained unwilling or unable to implement the new law.

In November 2023, Rodriguez was one of 15 torture survivors from 13 countries in Latin America who met face-to-face with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to share their experiences of torture and views on improving access to justice and reparation.

“It is a great achievement to stand in front of the Rapporteur and present my case,” said Rodriguez. “We are confident that we are on the right track. We are standing in a good place. All we ask of authorities is that they value the evidence we have.”

This content was produced by the #UnitedAgainstTorture Consortium (OMCT, IRCT, FIACT, APT, OMEGA and REDRESS), funded by the EU. The contents are the sole responsibility of UATC and do not necessarily reflect the position of the EU.