Freedom and justice for Shohn Huckabee

Shohn Huckabee, 23, is a newlywed and  small construction business owner, well thought of and trusted by many in  El Paso, Texas. He drove over to the sister city of  Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico on December 18, 2009 to save money on truck repairs. Millions of similar border crossings have gone on since time immemorial. Nearing the international bridge on his return early that evening,  he was run off the road by soldiers, and became another  victim of  human rights violations and individual guarantees at the hands of the Mexican Army, which has over 5,000 human rights violations cases filed against its ranks. Hours later, he then became immersed in  a saga of abuse and negligence, corruption, and impunity after being consigned to the infamous Mexican judicial system. His attorney, Ombudsman for Human Rights of the State of Chihuahua, Gustavo de la Rosa will soon file a special appeal (Amparo in Mexican law)  to restore his freedom and clear his good name of  the false charges of posessing two suitcases of marijuana that led him to be sentenced to 5 years in prison in Mexico.

Witnesses testifed to seeing 2 suitcases being taken out of the Army trucks and placed in his vehicle as he was violently removed from his truck and blindfolded. Sometime during this unwarranted and illegal detention process his own valuables and posessions were stolen and never accounted for, except for the truck that was eventually returned stripped down and in shambles.  He was beaten and kicked in the back of the soldiers vehicle while driven to an Army base on the outskirts of town, where he was tortured with electric shocks, interrogated in Spanish, which he does not speak, and then threatened with death in English if he did not confess to issues he had no knowledge of. Still blindfolded, he was again loaded into the back of a truck and then dropped off at the federal investigators headquarters. His blindfolding was ripped off just before the cameras began rolling where he discovered he was standing in front of scores of carefully arranged packages purported to be marijuana, exhibited  at a hastily arranged press conference meant   to publicize his capture as a drug smuggler. The Huckabee's introduction to the perils of theCd. Juarez justice system were made clear when  the office of Investigative Attorneys (Ministerio Publico) charged Shohn's father $1,000 dollars to even  see him  in order to make arrangements for his defense. These facts represent only a small  insight into the  nightmare, corruption, and abuse of human rights and individual guarantees  that have become endemic throughout the  Mexican system since the launch of the supposed Drug War. Shohn has now been incarcerated since December 19, 2009,  nearly 16 months. He has the option of transferring back to the US to serve his sentence, but he is innocent and is determined to live without an unjust felony conviction on his record, which would prevent him from fully enjoying many rights and privleges that would adversely affect his livelihood and recreation. He deserves to be fully cleared..

His hearing before a lone judge revealed no evidence or forensic proof, no testimony or witnesses to support any of the claims made by two soldiers, only contradictions and lies. The Army posted on its official website that the patrol had discovered the marijuana in the truck by use of the GT 200 Molecular Detector, a ridiculously absurd divining rod that the Mexican Army has purchased for $22,000 dollars a unit, despite its being banned in many countries and the US Justice department warnings against its use.  Unbiased witnesses for the defense did come forward to provide testimony consistently contradicting  the events fabricated  by the Army and prosecution. Shohn, in the words of the sole judge who was often absent from the room during the "trial" proceedings,  was probably guilty, and then disinterestedly sentenced him  to five years in prison in Cd. Juarez.

Please sign the petiton and ask that others do so,  insisting that  US government officials  review the facts of Shohn's case, and that they excercise  every means possible  to call for  a just and immediate review and honorable resolution of Shohn's case, and grant him freedom  to return home. He has a right under Mexican law to have the previous unjust and unsubtantiated sentence revoked. We are calling on all of you  to help us successfuly demand that he be cleared of wrongdoing and freed without further delay. Visit freeshohn.com for more information.