MOSCOW, November 8 (RIA Novosti) — Human Rights Watch has slammed the Mexican authorities for delaying investigation into the disappearances of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero State.
"The Mexican government delayed investigations into the enforced disappearances of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero State," HRW said in a statement issued Friday.
The watchdog said investigation into the Iguala disappearances was rolled out only 10 days after the students went missing.
"These are the worst atrocities we've seen in Mexico in years, but they are hardly isolated incidents," Human Rights Watch Director for Americas Jose Miguel Vivanco said in the statement.
"Instead, these killings and forced disappearances reflect a much broader pattern of abuse and are largely the consequence of the longstanding failure of Mexican authorities to address the problem," Vivanco added, noting that the delays had harmed the public's confidence in the Attorney General's Office.
On September 26, a group of policemen, accompanied by unidentified armed people, cracked down on students in Iguala who were protesting against educational reforms. Six people were killed and 17 were injured as a result of the violence. Fifty-seven students went missing, with 14 having returned home later.
