Torture Doesn’t Work for Justice, Human Rights Official Says

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Torture is not a valid tool for pursuing justice, a human rights investigator said Friday, as more than six people have filed amparo petitions alleging illegal detentions and possible torture by municipal police officers and state prosecutors in Playa del Carmen.

Salvador Contreras Mis, third investigator with the Quintana Roo Human Rights Commission (CDHEQROO) in Playa del Carmen, said confessions obtained under torture are legally invalid. If mistreatment is proven, he added, the accused person becomes a victim and may be entitled to reparations.

The amparo petitions — a legal remedy used to challenge constitutional rights violations — target officers under the command of Carlos Montesinos, according to Contreras Mis. The cases have been previously reported and documented by local media.

Contreras Mis said such abuses are not necessarily confined to municipal holding cells. They can happen at any point, from the moment of detention to the transfer of the person in custody, he explained.

The commission has issued multiple general recommendations on torture and has repeatedly pointed to conduct that may constitute the practice, he said. However, the agency can only intervene in the reported cases when victims file a formal complaint with the commission.