Mexican lower house unanimously approves military justice reform measure

The Mexican Chamber of Deputies today unanimously approved a bill to reform the military justice system. The measure, which had already passed the Senate, "will allow members of the armed forces who commit crimes against civilians to be tried in civilian courts, a historic change that human rights defenders have been demanding for years."

Mario Patron, deputy director of Mexico's Human Rights Centre Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez, said the military code "was subjecting civilian victims to a jurisdiction that is neither independent nor impartial."

He said the reform is a clear step forward, but suggested that cases of soldiers whose human rights have been violated by other soldiers should also go to civilian court.