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24reportedly held incommunicado for more than 60 hours, during whichtime they were put under severe pressure to make statements admittingtheir guilt. They were also denied access to a lawyer. If found guilty theycould face up to thirty years in prison. No further news at 30 June 2012.*Arcelia GARCIA ORTEGA (f): reporter for Realidades de Nayarit, isbeing sued by a politician for libel and slander. If found guilty she facesa prison sentence of between 3 days and 1 year, or a fine of ten days’salary. On 21 July 2011, Garcia published comments made by IvideleziaReyes Hernández, deputy of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), in whichReyes accused Omar Reynoso Gallegos, deputy of a rival party (PartidoRevolucionario Institucional (PRI)), of financial embezzlement during histime as state secretary for health. Garcia has written to various governmentauthorities and journalistic organisations denouncing her ‘intimidation’ bythe politician, claiming that in the state of Nayarit, legal charges of libeland defamation are regularly used to censor journalists. She also pointsout that the comments which she published were also published by othernews sources, and yet she and a colleague are the only ones who facecharges. Principle 10 of the IACHR’s Declaration of Principles of Free ofExpression says that ‘the protection of reputation of a government workeror public person must be protected only using civil sanctions.’ It alsosays that it must be proved that the journalist/communicator publishedinformation with the intention of causing harm, of that they did soknowing that it was untrue. No further news at 30 June 2012.Harrassed*Arturo SANTAMARÍA GÓMEZ: political columnist for the dailynewspaper El Noreste and professor of journalism at the UniversidadAutónoma de Sinaloa (UAS) was allegedly harassed and was also thealleged victim of a smear campaign in January 2012. An anonymousarticle appeared in the newspaper El Debate, accusing Santamaría of‘putting his students’ lives at risk’ and of being a ‘murderer of journalism.’Around this time a number of unidentified men in cars without numberplates began driving around the journalist’s home and questioning hisneighbours. Santamaría believes that these acts of intimidation are linkedto his political column, in which he denounced the allegedly corruptpractices of the past UAS administration under Hector Ojeda CuénMelesio, who is now the mayor of Culiacan, Sinaloa.Judicial concernEnrique ARANDA OCHOA: university teacher and writer, has beenimprisoned along with his brother, Adrián Aranda Ochoa, since 1996 forallegedly kidnapping the daughter of a politician. Details of arrest anddetention: Arrested on 25 June 1996, the Aranda brothers were accusedof several crimes, including kidnapping and carrying weapons. Theywere later charged with kidnapping Lorena Pérez-Jácome F., a televisionpresenter and the daughter of an Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)politician who has been a senator and presidential spokesman. Theywere also charged with robbery. The brothers were allegedly torturedwhile in the custody of the police and Public Ministry and forced to signconfessions. Sentence: In August 1997, both brothers were sentenced to57 years in prison, confirmed in December that year. The allegations oftorture were not taken into account. Torture allegations: The brothersfiled a complaint against the state for torture and abuse of authority. InMay 1999, a medical certificate was issued showing that they had beentortured. In 2002, the Human Rights Commission of the Federal District(CDHDF) issued a recommendation calling for those responsible fortorturing the Aranda brothers to be brought to justice and that the brothersshould be awarded reparations. The recommendation was accepted by theAttorney General however has yet to be implemented. Retrial: Followinga retrial, the brothers’ sentence was reduced to 40 years in January 2005.This was further reduced to 32 years in March 2007 after the robberycharge was dropped, and in December 2008 to 24 years and six months.As of July 2010, the brothers were hoping to be released on parole(beneficios de preliberación). They were still detained in Reclusorio Surprison in Mexico City as of October 2010. Apparently still imprisonedas of 30 June 2012. Possible reasons for arrest: The reasons for thebrothers’ arrest are not clear. However, Enrique Aranda believes his arrestand conviction were due to his political activism and open criticism ofthe former PRI administration. When he was initially detained he wasquestioned about his political activities. He claims that the legal processhas been marred by political pressure throughout. PEN position: PENholds no position on Aranda’s guilt or innocence. It is concerned by theallegations that he was tortured and calls on the Mexican authorities toimplement CDHDF’s recommendation. Background: Enrique Arandalectured for several years in political psychology at the IberoamericanUniversity in Mexico and is a former President of the Mexican Associationof Psychologists. Since his imprisonment, he has been a prolific writer,having produced six books of poems, short stories, plays, novels and nonfiction, all unpublished to date. His work has reportedly earned him some11 national awards. Adrián Aranda is an accountant. No further news at30 June 2012.PERUOn trialMelissa Rocío PATIÑO HINOSTROZA (f): poet and universitystudent, is a member of the ‘Círculo del sur’ (Southern Circle) poetrygroup in Lima and runs a poetry programme on radio and culturalactivities with young people. Patiño (21) is on trial for terrorism, based onher alleged involvement with a leftwing political organization, BolivarianContinental Coordinator (Coordinadora Continental Boliviariana – CCB),which the Peruvian authorities claim is linked to terrorist groups. Shedenies any political affiliations and to date no concrete evidence has beenproduced to back up the charges. Patiño was detained from 29 Februaryto 8 May 2008, when she was released pending trial. She potentiallyfaces 20 years in prison if convicted. Arrest and detention: Patiño wasarrested along with six others in Tumbes, on the border with Ecuador, on29 February 2008. The seven were returning by bus from Quito, wherethey had attended the second congress of the CCB from 24 to 28 February2008, which was reportedly held with the knowledge and consent of theEcuadorian authorities. They were subsequently charged with ‘Affiliationand Collaboration with Terrorism’, apparently on the basis of theirattendance at the CCB meeting. Initially detained in Tumbes and theCounterterrorism Division (División Contra el Terrorismo – DINCOTE),on 15 March 2008 Patiño was transferred to Santa Monica maximumsecurity prison in Chorrillos, Lima, where she was held until 8 May 2008.Background: The government alleges that the Peruvian chapter of CCBhas links with Peruvian Marxist rebel group Movimiento RevolucionarioTúpac Amaru (MRTA) and the FARC guerrilla group in Colombia. It alsoreportedly accused CCB members of planning to sabotage the 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Peru. Two of the sixindividuals who were detained along with Patiño are said to be formerMRTA members; one has served a prison sentence for belonging to theMRTA and since his release has reportedly been organizing workshopsand events at the university where Patiño studies (Universidad Mayorde San Marcos, Lima). However, Patiño’s presence in the bus carrying