MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Amnesty International has denounced the late release of Angel Colon, who, according to the organization, was tortured, detained and prosecuted without legal grounds, a statement published on Amnesty International website Friday said.
"Angel Colon suffered torture at the hands of the Mexican authorities and has had years of his life wasted in pre-trial detention. This is an outrage," Americas Director of Amnesty International Erika Guevara Rosas said in a statement.
On Friday, the Mexican Federal Attorney General dropped the charges on Angel Colon, who was arrested in March 2009 in Tijuana, northern Mexico when he was travelling from Honduras to the United States.
According to Amnesty International, Colon was subjected to torture by police and soldiers, who beat, asphyxiated and racially abused him. They also coerced him into signing a false admission of guilt. Colon, however, withdrew his statement reported the torture he experienced to the authorities.
In a video published early this October on the official Amnesty International official YouTube account, Colon said:
"Simply put, torture is a reflection of hate. And it destroys. It destroys life, it destroys the individual. They tortured me in front of others. They turned me into a clown who entertains the public. "
Throughout the statement, the organization called upon the government of Mexico to give more credence to investigations conducted by independent experts.
"The Mexican authorities need to recognize more widely the evidential value of examinations conducted by independent experts. This would be the first step in improving the country's dismal record of impunity for torture and other ill-treatment," Guevara Rosas added.
Amnesty International has reported that Colon was released unconditionally after spending six years behind bars with no trial.
