A federal collegiate court overturned the ruling that had allowed the proceedings against Francisco González Arredondo, former prosecutor specializing in human rights in Chihuahua, to continue, determining that the charges against him lacked sufficient legal grounds to justify his being bound over for trial. The decision questions the manner in which the state prosecutor’s office presented the allegations of alleged psychological torture.
Between 2016 and 2021, González Arredondo headed the so-called Justice Operation for Chihuahua, an initiative implemented during Javier Corral’s administration aimed at probing an alleged scheme concerning the embezzlement of state resources tied to former Governor César Duarte. Following the transition in the state administration, he was detained in November 2022, shifting his role from spearheading anti-corruption probes to defending himself against criminal charges.
Released on July 30 within a 109-page ruling, the judicial decision indicates that the prosecutor’s office neglected to properly define the timeframe for the supposed actions linked to the former prosecutor. The magistrates noted that this vagueness impaired González Arredondo in his efforts to build a proper defense against the accusations.
One of the primary worries of the court centered on the timeframe utilized by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to determine the dates of the purported acts of torture. Spanning roughly 21 months—specifically between February 2017 and November 2018—the accusations lacked precise calendar dates, specific contexts, and any description of the exact part the former prosecutor supposedly took in every occurrence.
The judges also examined footage from the preliminary sessions of the case. They noted that defense counsel consistently requested exact dates for the incriminated actions, whereas the public ministry kept pointing exclusively to an extensive timeframe spanning almost twenty-four months. Consequently, the bench concluded that such vagueness severely impaired the guarantees of a proper defense.
The ruling also examined the testimony of the person who reported the alleged incidents. The judges found that the account provided an unclear chronology regarding the interrogations, threats and pressures described, without clearly establishing when they occurred or in which of those incidents González Arredondo allegedly participated directly.
The court, composed of Marta Barrios, Mario Gámez and José Cornejo, concluded that the deficiencies concerning the timing and circumstances of the alleged events also made it difficult to determine the former prosecutor’s probable involvement and raised doubts about whether sufficient evidence existed to sustain the charges.
The decision also integrated a communication issued by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico. Throughout the amparo proceedings, the entity voiced apprehension that the criminal charges brought against González Arredondo might amount to payback linked to his anti-corruption investigations. Ultimately, the tribunal chose to append the statement to the legal dossier so it could be weighed during the final judgment.
González Arredondo had been held in preventive custody starting in November 2022 until a federal magistrate mandated in March 2023 that he await trial outside of jail. This recent decision constitutes a defeat for the prosecutors and substantially alters the ex-prosecutor’s judicial standing, seeing as his professional trajectory was tightly linked to the graft probes conducted throughout Javier Corral’s administration.
The case has gained prominence within the broader discussion regarding the deployment of the criminal justice system against public officials and human rights defenders engaged in sensitive inquiries. The verdict underscores the duty of authorities to craft exact charges and uphold the procedural safeguards of individuals undergoing criminal prosecution.
Source: EL PAÍS — https://elpais.com/mexico/2026-08-08/la-justicia-desarma-el-caso-contra-el-fiscal-que-persiguio-la-corrupcion-en-chihuahua.html
