A criminal court judge has ordered 22 Chiapas state troopers held for trial in the fatal shooting of an Indian villager, one of a crowd protesting a Christmas week massacre.
Judge Guillermo Dominguez Espinoza in the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez ruled Wednesday there is sufficient evidence to try the state policemen for involvement in the death of Guadalupe Mendez Martinez, 38.Mendez's 2-year-old daughter and two men were wounded when a police patrol in Ocosingo opened fire into a crowd protesting the Dec. 22 massacre of 45 Indians in Acteal, another Chiapas town.
The 22 were also charged with attempting to cause bodily harm, excessive use of force and abuse of authority. Dominguez, in the 3rd Criminal Court, denied bail to all the accused.
Dominguez did not make public details of the charges against each of the accused, but he was quoted by the government news agency Notimex as saying they could all get up to 40 years imprisonment if convicted.