Mexico’s court sentenced a soldier responsible for forced disappearances to prison, in a milestone case that was the first time a government solider had been found guilty for the disappearance of a civilian.
The soldier was sentenced to 31 years in prison for kidnapping a victim in May 2012 in the state of Nuevo Leon, reports Reuters.
A series of legislation changes by Mexico’s Supreme Court in 2011 has allowed civilian trials of military personnel, due to a new law that makes “forced disappearance” or “kidnapping” by state security forces a crime.
Since the beginning of the country’s war on drug gangs in 2006, Mexico’s security forces face widespread accusations of human rights abuses including extrajudicial executions, torture and rape.