Despite these reforms, however, torture, ill treatment and degrading prison conditions are still widespread in Mexico. Such abuses continue, in part, because of the curtain of secrecy that can be drawn around prisoners. People picked up by the police or military may be held in secrecy for days. Not only are they denied access to legal assistance, the government may deny any knowledge of their whereabouts. There have also been numerous reports of prisoners being denied access to the medical attention that could validate their claims of torture.
Doctors working in Mexican prisons often fail to make full reports on the conditions of prisoners.
Mexican human rights activists and international observers like Amnesty International are sometimes denied access to Mexican prisons. Mexican activists trying to expose torture are themselves frequently subject to harassment and violence by government authorities and pro-government paramilitaries. Amnesty International is calling on the government of Mexico to end the secrecy in which torture is perpetuated. Independent human rights observers should be free to investigate prison conditions and any allegations of torture and abuse. The harassment of human rights defenders should not be tolerated.