Accompaniment of Emiliana Cerezo to the prison ‘La Palma’

Susi Bascon, a former PBI field volunteer and current PBI UK coordinator, tells the story of her first accompaniment assignment: the accompaniment of Emiliana Cerezo, sister of the Cerezo brothers, to the prison 'La Palma' in 2004, where her brothers had been held since August 2001.

On the 15th of March 2004, I carried out my first accompaniment trip of Emiliana Cerezo to the maximum security prison ’La Palma’, located in the city of Almoloya, Mexico. There, Alejandro (20 years old), Hector (22) and Antonio Cerezo (24), brothers of Emiliana, have remained in jail since August 2001, victims of physical and psychological torture. They were sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison for organized crime and terrorism. The defendant lawyer, Barbara Zamora, argued that the Public Ministry dictated the sentence with political rather than juridical criteria as there was no significant evidence proving the guilt of the accused. Since the Cerezo brothers were accused, a day has not passed without Emiliana and Francisco Cerezo struggling to find out about the truth of what they consider to be a very unjust judicial sentence. “My brothers are students of philosophy and economics at the UNAM [Autonomy University]. They are political prisonersâ€?. 

Emiliana and Francisco Cerezo got in touch with NGOs and INGOs in despair, in an effort to find a solution to the situation. Soon after, three mysterious messages were recorded in their answer machine. A strange female voice was threatening to kill them. Fear and a feeling of isolation prompted Emiliana and Francisco to look for help from the LIMEDHH, a Mexican human rights organization, which provides advice and support to victims of human rights abuses. LIMEDHH requested an accompaniment from PBI due to the imminent threat to the lives of Emiliana and Francisco. Since 14th February 2002, PBI has been accompanying Emiliana and Francisco to ’La Palma’ prison in their regular visits to see their brothers.

My name is Susi Bascon and I am a PBI volunteer who worked on an accompaniment for Emiliana Cerezo.  My french colleague and I woke up at 6.30 in the morning and put on our yellow PBI T-shirts to meet Emiliana at the bus station. We were to catch a bus which would take us to Almoloya City, a two hour journey from Mexico DF. Emiliana was waiting for us in the company of her friend Lupita, girlfriend of one of her jailed brothers, Hector. 20 year old Lupita talked to us about how, since he was put in jail, they had become partners. She talked with so much love and hope as if his jail sentence of more than 13 years was not an impediment for their relationship.

30 year old Emiliana is very fond of her brothers: “I have not chosen them but can not avoid loving them so much. My life revolves completely around them…they need me now more than ever.  Francisco and I live to get our brothers out of jail. We will not stop until we try everythingâ€?.

The case of the Cerezo brothers is one of the most controversial and high profile cases in Mexico at present and does not seem to be an isolated case. Emiliana claims there are more than 400 political prisoners in the country suffering the same sort of injustice as her brothers. Emiliana and Francisco are determined to campaign for political prisoners across the country and have set up an NGO called Commission for the Liberty of the Cerezo Brothers.. Several measures have been taken to ensure the protection of the Cerezo family. The case has been taken to the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights which asked the Mexican government to provide cautelar measures for Emiliana and Francisco to ensure that their security and protection is guaranteed. Emiliana and Francisco rejected a police escort from the government and instead requested accompaniment from PBI. Amnesty International and local NGOs issued urgent actions: “Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of Francisco Cerezo and his sister, Emiliana Cerezo who have reportedly received death threats and been subjected to intimidating surveillance�.

La Palma is located in a very isolated area and it is a long trip with potential risks involved. We arrived at the prison after a two hour journey, and personally, it was the first time I found myself in such an environment. I had a mixture of feelings and could not avoid putting myself into Emiliana´s shoes. I wondered how I would feel if my brothers were the ones in jail. I became emotional thinking of the significance of the situation but restrained myself from thinking about it. As a PBI volunteer you get exposed to the suffering and sadness of the people you accompany, as well as to the courage and strength of their characters.  Being in touch with Emiliana´s reality made me more aware and certain of the reasons why I choose to work as a PBI volunteer in Mexico. Suddenly everything was put into perspective.

Emiliana´s strength and conviction when talking about her brothers’ case reaffirmed her determination to continue with the struggle to set them free. In our conversations she let us know how little importance her life has at the moment.  She does not want to take on anything that might take her away from her mission of getting her brothers out of jail. Everything is secondary now.
Emiliana tells me that the former defence lawyer was Digna Ochoa, the high profile lawyer who was assassinated in 2001 and whose case has not yet been resolved more than a year after her death. She expressed sympathy and remembers her as a very attentive, serene and professional person who used to regularly visit her brothers at the prison. Barbara Zamora, a former colleague of Digna, has now taken up the case, and has already received death threats.  Barbara has asked for accompaniment to PBI and we are currently considering her petition. It is not difficult to understand why very few lawyers dare to get involved in the Cerezo case.

Emiliana is very grateful for the support that PBI is giving her. “Initially I did not want accompaniment from PBI for myself - I wanted PBI volunteers to accompany my brother, Francisco, but gradually I have realised that my protection is also important and I am happy having PBI volunteers around�. Emiliana comments on how grateful she is for the accompaniment received from PBI and is fascinated by the fact that foreigners give their time and energy to accompany people working to defend human rights. “One of the reasons why we requested help from PBI is that we knew you are an international organisation which has the support of other countries.

This makes it very difficult for the Mexican government to threaten our lives without paying a high political cost in the eyes of the international community. I believe this is the reason for PBI to exist and shows the importance of your work�.