YAKIRI MAY SPEND 60 YEARS IN PRISON FOR SELF DEFENSE AGAINST RAPIST

Yakiri may spend 60 years in prison for defending herself from rape

• She was raped, her assaultant died, she was sent to prison for aggravated murder. 
• Her case has upraised an intense debate about injustice in Mexico against women. 
• Mexico the paradise for Macho Authorities

Edgar Elias Azar, presidente to the TSJDF is a mexican judge involved in Yakiri´s case as head of all judges in Mexico City

Edmundo Garrido Osorio, PGJDF subchief of Investigations has insisted on Yakiri´s romantic affair with her aggressor Miguel Angel Ramirez Ayala

 MIGUEL ANGEL MANCERA MEXICO CITY MAYOR: Yakiri´s case is a big head ache for him.

RODOLFO RIOS GARZA, MEXICO CITY´S DISTRICT ATTORNEY his team sustains there was no rape and that Yakiri is a cold blooded murder.

MEXICO CITY, DEC 19, 2013.- She is Yakiri Rubi Rubio Aupart, a 20 year-old lesbian girl accused of murdering the man who raped her when defending herself from his sexual assault. The Mexico City District Attorney’s office (PGJDF in Spanish) ignored her claim and had her arrested. Yakiri could now spend 60 years in prison. The case has created an intense debate in Mexico. Civil organizations denounce that Yakiri has been victimized twice, since authorities have practically disregarded her claim of being raped and that she killed her aggressor in legitimate self-defense. Mexico City DA’s office states that it has gone through all the legal procedures for cases similar to this one, insisting they have the evidence to indict the girl. Laura Martínez, managing director of the Comprehensive Development Program for Persons Victim of Rape (ADIVAC in Spanish) tells BBC that the authorities are violating Yakiri’s rights, something that is common in Mexico. “Women victims of sexual violence looking for justice indicate that the first thing that happens to them when they do is they get challenged. All they hear is, ‘No, what happened to you is not true, you need to prove it,’” she denounces. Yakiri’s case has gone viral in social media, including Twitter and Facebook, where a #YakiriLibre (Free Yakiri) hashtag and page has been created, and where thousands of people are requesting her freedom, she has over 55000 signatures in her change petition. 

The Ramirez Anaya brothers raped Yakiri and attempted to murder her, she fought back and Miguel Angel died out of a self inflicted wound with his own knife.

Picture Published by the DA´s office in Mexico City

There are multiple critics on the Internet against Mexico City DA’s Office (PGJDF) as it was expressed on the ADN Politico portal by Laura Aragón, director of Mukira organization. In her text she questions the DA’s director: “Mr. Rodolfo Ríos Garza: your misinformation does not justify your machismo”, she says. Misogyny Why has Yakiri case caused such an upheaval? Because of the misogyny that apparently prevails in the justice institutions, Laura Martínez adds. She also states that it is frequent for women to be at a disadvantage in gender-related crimes. Martínez insists that for example, when women try to file a complaint for family violence the agents of the Public Ministry reject to initiate the investigation, and when they do, they integrate the file in an improper way, which makes difficult to prosecute and punish the aggressors. It also happens that in cases of sexual abuse police men blame the victims and have even sentenced the victims for manslaughter when they have had spontaneous abortions as in the states of Guanajuato and Quintana Roo, even in indigenous regions like Veracruz, Guerrero and San Luis Potosí, she indicates. Besides, in cases where women commit crimes, there are judges that give them the maximum sentences while men in the same situation have reduced sentences, critics sustain. “Misogyny permeates all realms, especially in justice and in crime areas where gender is involved, explains the managing director of ADIVAC. There are laws in the country that guarantee women a life free of violence but it is not applied in all cases, and this aggravates the problem, she insists. “If public officers continue with the regional customs we have in Mexico, where women are to be used against their will and not to be respected, this misogyny is reproduced”. 

ANA KATIRIA SUAREZ YAKIRI´S LAWYER

TRIAL 

It is due to this context that Yakiri Rubi’s case is one of the most commented in social networks and many Mexican media. Since this case came to light many demonstrations and protest have taken place to request her freedom, in addition, human rights organizations insist that the girl was sent to prison through an irregular process. Mexico City DA’s office insists that it has enough evidence to keep her in prison. One of these is that Yakiri denied knowing her aggressor but PGJDF sustain there were calls and text messages between them on her cell phone, defense denies this. Lawyers and activists point that this fact does not eliminate the grounds for sexual abuse she underwent. Beyond the publicity around this case the girl will remain in prison since the trial for aggravated murder is taking place. Similar cases can be resolved in at least one year.