Parents of dead Mexican students demand fresh probe
Parents of the 43 Mexican students abducted and allegedly massacred in 2014 asked the government to carry out a fresh probe into the case. They further accused President Enrique Pena Nieto of ignoring their requests to find the truth. The families want a new internationally supervised investigation to review Mexico's findings on this incident which they believe were far removed from the truth.
On 26 September 2014, around 50 Ayotzinapa Rural Teacher's College's male students from Iguala went missing. The students had been protesting against the disparity in the hiring system. The protest had been at a conference led by the mayor's wife. 6 students were shot and the rest were allegedly abducted and then handed over to the crime syndicate Guerreros Unidos and murdered.
While the search for the missing students continued, the police said that the number of the missing students had come down to 43. 14 students who had been reported missing reappeared and said that they had been lying low because of fear and had later contacted friends. The majority of students however remained unaccounted for and were most likely dead.
On 5 October 2014, a mass grave containing 28 charred bodies was found near Iguala. The reports suggested the bodies had been tortured before getting burnt. On 14 October 2014, police said the forensic-tests showed the graves weren't of the missing students. On the same day four more graves were discovered. Following this, eight more cartels were arrested in connection with the missing students.
After the news of the mass graves surfaced, the mayor of Iguala Jose Luis Abarca and his wife went missing. On 4 November 2014, the couple were found hiding by the Federal Police. The next day the mayor was transferred to a high-security prison "for his pending homicide charge, organized crime, and forced disappearance charges".
A Mexican protestor interrupted Malala Yousoufzai's 'Nobel' moment by coming in with the Mexican flag in protest of the 43 missing students.
On 7 November 2014, the family members of the missing students met with Attorney General of Mexico Jesus Murillo Karam. Karam revealed a video re-enactment of how the bodies were transported, and then subsequently murdered. He also said that the DNA findings were difficult as the bodies had been burnt. However, the parents demanded an international forensic probe.
On 6 December 2014, forensic specialists from the University of Innsbruck confirmed the death of first of the 43 missing students, Alexander Mora Venancio (aged 19).
An official government report on the abduction of 43 students proved that the Mexican government's story was "scientifically impossible" The six-month investigation by independent experts also highlighted various other suspicions about the government's account of events surrounding the episode. The report hinted towards Mexican government's efforts to put a lid on the issue and was based on the account of the detainees.
