|
The Embassy of Mexico in Canada issued the following press release about Brenda Martin´s case.
Statement about Brenda Martin's Case
To clarify and correct recent inaccuracies regarding the Brenda Martin case, the Mexican Embassy of Canada today released the following statement:
- The Government of Mexico and its Embassy in Canada have done everything possible to ensure that the detainee receives the greatest privileges a prison can grant an accused. This has been corroborated by the Mexican Ambassador to Canada and the Jalisco Human Rights Commission.
- At the time of her arrest, Mrs. Brenda Martin was illegally in the country, without a work visa. The Mexican government has never filed any charge whatsoever in that regard.
- Mrs. Brenda Martin maintained a close relationship with Alyn Waage for a fair length of time. This leads to the supposition that she had some knowledge of the criminal activities in which her friend was engaged.
- When INTERPOL, along with the Mexican government, decided to arrest the band of defrauders, Brenda Martin was included in the group.
- The Judge opened a global file to indict those involved in the criminal case.
- The four lawyers Brenda Martin retained during the past two years never separated her case from the other individuals standing accused of fraud, having had the legal ability to do so. In not doing so, she remained linked to them and included in the global file comprising 25,000 pages.
- Brenda Martin’s current lawyer filed an amparo alleging that her constitutional rights had been violated. After five months of review, the Constitutional Review Tribunal ruled that there had been no breach of the Constitution in her proceedings. While the Tribunal reviewed the case, the previous legal proceedings were stayed.
- According to official reports, the case is to be concluded shortly. The lengthy resolution of the case stems from the complexity of integrating a file of international scope, involving acts in various countries and languages. The delay in Brenda Martin’s case is due to the fact that her defence lawyers never separated this issue from the larger case.
- Mexico is a democratic, representative country, with three branches of government (Executive, Legislative and Judicial), and States that are free, sovereign and autonomous in the judicial sphere as well. The case in question is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts. Any individual who feels that his or her rights have been violated may turn to the Federal Courts and file an amparo, as Brenda Martin did, to ensure respect for the individual’s constitutional rights.
- In Mexico there are hundreds of thousands of foreign businesses, Diplomatic and Consular Representations from over 130 countries, millions of tourists who have visited and live in Mexico and can attest to the fact that Mexico is a democracy. The Mexican system is written rather than oral, and as in Canada there is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The judicial process is governed by Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
- The Embassy of Mexico has done everything possible to have the case resolved. At the request of the Canadian government, it has taken all steps within its reach to ensure that the case is expedited and that Brenda Martin has the best prison conditions possible.
- Recall that the Attorney General’s Office initiated the investigation into the large-scale fraud committed by a Canadian citizen Alyn Waage (around sixty million dollars).
- As a result of its investigations, the Attorney General’s Office requested that a federal judge issue an arrest warrant for Brenda Martin.
- The agents from the Attorney General’s Office, in compliance with the arrest warrant issued by the Federal Judge, apprehended Brenda Martin in 2006 and placed her in the jurisdiction of the court to be judged pursuant to Articles 14,16,19,20 and 21 of the Constitution.
- Over one million Canadian tourists are welcomed to Mexico annually. Mexico and Canada have a long history of diplomatic ties; we are trading partners and have a strong friendship. We are working towards the rapid resolution of this case and will continue to provide updates as they become available.
For more informacion, please contact:
Press Department
phone: (613) 233 8988 x.2230
seccionprensa@embamexcan.com
|
