Human rights / Arbitrary arrest and detention

The case refers to the prolonged detention suffered by two asylum seekers during the refugee status recognition procedure that was being substantiated before COMAR. They were reportedly placed at the disposal of the National Migration Institute and kept in prolonged detention for a long period of time. The Working Group concluded that the Mexican State was responsible for the arbitrary detention of the petitioners and for the violation of articles 7, 8, 9, and 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and falls within categories I, II and IV related to the Group's mandate.

18 February 2020 | Judicial Body: UN Human Rights Council | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Arbitrary arrest and detention | Countries: Mexico

February 2019 | Publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) | Document type: Thematic Reports

23 January 2018 | Publisher: Amnesty International | Document type: Country Reports

Mr. Orosmán Marcelino Cabrera Barnés alleges that on 7 February 2006 he escaped from Cuba for political reasons together with a contingent of people on a boat that, a few days later, broke down and was rescued by a cruise ship bound for Mexico. He adds that on 17 February of the same year, upon arriving in Mexican territory, he was arrested by the authorities of the National Institute of Migration (INM) at the Chetumal migrant holding centre in the state of Quintana Roo. He points out that these authorities interviewed him, told him that he would not be deported, that he could remain for a period of no more than 90 days as established by the law in force at the time of the events, and that they would give him an exit order to leave Mexican territory in a reasonable time. The petitioner maintains that he was then transferred to the "Siglo XXI" migrant holding center located in Tapachula (Chiapas), where he did not have a court-appointed lawyer. He states that he was subjected to adverse conditions of detention as he was confined 24 hours without being able to sunbathe and without being able to make telephone calls, that the food was of poor quality and that he could not bathe every day. According to the documentation provided by the alleged victim, on 21 April and 8 May 2006, he applied for refuge before the local delegation of the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR), as the competent State agency for this procedure, where he was assured that for the duration of the process he would not be deported for the safety of his freedom and life. According to the file, the COMAR delegate in Chiapas brought both requests to the attention of the INM on 4 and 8 May 2006, respectively. In response to the State's allegations, it states that on no occasion was it abandoning those requests.

26 October 2017 | Judicial Body: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Arbitrary arrest and detention | Countries: Mexico

13 July 2017 | Publisher: Amnesty International | Document type: Country Reports

16 December 2016 | Publisher: World Organisation Against Torture | Document type: Country Reports

27 September 2016 | Publisher: World Organisation Against Torture | Document type: Country Reports