Asylum Seeker Files Petition Against Mexico In OAS

AP-TX–Mexican Journalist-Human Rights,121 Asylum seeker files petition against Mexico in OAS Eds: APNewsNow. EL PASO, Texas (AP) – A Mexican journalist seeking asylum in the U.S. says he has asked the Organization of American States human rights commission to find that the Mexican government is unable to protect its citizens from the army. Emilio Gutierrez says he fled Mexico in 2008 after receiving death threats from military officers displeased with his articles denouncing abuses by the army. The petition was filed by two local lawyers at the Inter-American Human Rights Commission in Washington. They are also asking that the Mexican government be ordered to set up a special prosecutor to investigate abuses by the army. If granted, said Carlos Spector, a lawyer representing Gutierrez, a ruling by the commission will be another proof of his client’s right to asylum.

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AP-NY-07-08-11 1703EDT