To:
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa
Presidente de la República
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos, Casa Miguel Alemán
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, México DF

Copy to:
Alejandro Poire Romero
Secretario de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. Piso, Col. Juárez, Del.Cuauhtémoc,
C.P. 06600, México DF


TO PRESIDENT FELIPE CALDERÓN HINOJOSA:
By way of the following, we address you, Felipe Carderón Hinojosa, so as to apprise you of our steadfast demand for the immediate and unconditional release of Francisco Sántiz López and Alberto Patishtán Gómez, political prisoners falsely accused of crimes that they never committed.
In light of the fact that you currently hold the post of President of the Republic of the United States of Mexico, you are directly empowered to resolve these two cases, which are characterized by flagrant injustice and a disregard for the human rights of Alberto Patishtán Gómez and Francisco Sántiz López. To continue depriving them of their freedom effectively constitutes complicity on your part in the violations perpetrated against them.
Since December 4, 2011, Francisco Sántiz López -- a Zapatista Support Base Member -- has remained unjustly imprisoned on the false accusation that he led a confrontation which took place in the community of Banavil, Tenejapa Municipality, Chiapas. Despite the numerous witnesses who have attempted to testify on his behalf, the authorities responsible for imparting justice have refused to consider their crucial testimony.
These witnesses unambiguously confirm that the accused was not present at the site of the incident. Moreover, both the Good Government Council headquartered at Oventic and the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre have illustrated the impunity enjoyed by the real perpetrators of the murder and acts of aggression that took place in Banavil, Tenejapa, Chiapas.
Similarly, Alberto Patishtán Gómez, a Chiapan from the El Bosque municipality, was unjustly incarcerated on June 19, 2000 for crimes that he also did not commit. Two years later he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. His unjust incarceration is a direct consequence of having fought to improve the quality of life in his municipality.
When Alberto Patishtán was detained, he was deeply involved in the fight for social justice in his community and denounced the corruption of the municipal public servants. Known as Professor Patishtán, Alberto was a teacher in a local, elementary public school that worked towards and promoted local development, and was noted for his role as a passionate organizer with collectives fighting for regional development. Alongside this, he is recognized for his union-based work in support of labour rights and against the corrupt practices of local politicians, for which he is regarded as a political prisoner.
During his 12 years in jail, Patishtán has distinguished himself for his honourable efforts to provide basic education to his fellow unjustly imprisoned comrades and for his continued path of dignity, truth, and justice. In response and as a punishment, Noé Castañón León, the General Secretary of the Government of Chiapas, formally requested the transfer of Patishtán to the CEFERESO in Guasave, Sinaloa. Today, Patishtán is locked in permanent isolation. Despite the numerous violations of his human rights, including permanent torture, denial of adequate medical attention, and the degradation of his indigenous culture via cruel and inhumane treatment, Alberto Patishtán remains strong and demands, as we do, that you free him without delay.
During recent months, the resonance of this demand has swelled nationally and internationally. Thousands of people, organizations, and groups from numerous states of Mexico and countries of the world have mobilized to firmly demand the liberation of our comrades Francisco Sántiz López and Alberto Patishtán Gómez. Thousands more will continue to join until they are freed. We are all outraged, and now the whole world observes with growing concern the progress of these two cases.
In light of the aforementioned, we once more demand that you immediately and unconditionally release Francisco Sántiz López and Alberto Patishtán Gómez.
We wish to make it clear that until this demand is fulfilled, from our respective countries, states, and communities, we shall continue to expose and denounce the legal inconsistencies, human rights violations, and your inaction regarding the cases of our compañeros.
Our struggle shall continue until Francisco Sántiz López and Alberto Patishtán Gómez are freed.