Mexico: the former attorney general will be tried for the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa

Former Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam will be tried in the case of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa, kidnapped and disappeared on the night of September 26 to 27, 2014. AFP - YURI CORTEZ

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In Mexico, there is a new twist in the emblematic case of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa kidnapped and disappeared the night of September 26 to 27, 2014. The former attorney general of Mexico Jesus Murillo Karam, in preventive detention since last Friday, will be tried by a criminal court, decided Wednesday August 24 a Mexican judge who considered that there are sufficient elements.

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With our correspondent in Mexico

,

Jesus Murillo Karam will have to answer before the judicial administration, accused of enforced disappearance, torture and obstruction of justice.

At the time of the

normaliens students from the state of Guerrero, as Attorney General of the Republic attached to the presidential cabinet, he was in charge of supervising the investigation.

He is then the one who forged what is called "

", in his own words: a scenario set up by the authorities of the time which stages the death of the students and ignores the implication of the 'army.

Investigation severely criticized

Already in the past, this investigation had been very severely criticized: many inconsistencies and errors had been pointed out by experts who had also denounced the torture of certain witnesses.

But during an appearance this Wednesday, August 24, Murillo Karam continues to support this version, although extremely controversial and denied by the latest report on the case issued by a special commission.

The ex-civil servant, high figure of the institutional revolutionary party which ruled Mexico for 70 years, is the biggest political figure arrested in this case.

In 2014, he had already been at the heart of a controversy when he ended a press conference and refused to give explanations to the families of the victims on the facts on the pretext that he was tired, less than three months after the disappearance of students.

After 8 years of mystery and investigation into this murky affair where families relentlessly demand the truth, a government report released last week declares this a

, highlighting the role Mexican authorities in these murders.

►Also read: Mexico: the former attorney general arrested for the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa

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