Mexico court frees prisoners accused in massacre

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico on Wednesday freed 20 prisoners jailed for more than a decade in connection with a massacre of dozens of indigenous villagers in a case that has become emblematic of failings of the Mexican justice system.

Their release came after the nation's Supreme Court determined that the prisoners had been convicted in unfair trials of taking part in the 1997 killings in southern Mexico, with prosecutors fabricating evidence.

The prisoners were accused of belonging to a paramilitary group that mowed down 45 people, mostly women and children, in the remote mountain town of Acteal. Paramilitaries using machetes and automatic weapons killed unarmed refugees who had fled violent clashes in the state of Chiapas.

In addition to the 20 prisoners who were freed, 31 others convicted in connection with the massacre will have their cases reviewed by the Supreme Court and six more will be given new trials, according to a court source who asked not to be named.

"Acteal is a good opportunity for the court to reiterate a clear message to authorities charged with investigating and prosecuting crimes: your actions must scrupulously respect the constitution and human rights," Supreme Court Judge Juan Silva Meza said.

Many of the prisoners were sentenced to 40 years in jail after trials in which they did not have proper legal representation or translators who could speak their native Tzotzil language, the court said.

Most of the massacre victims were Tzotzil natives and supporters of the leftist Zapatista guerrilla movement that burst onto the national stage on January 1, 1994, with a violent uprising against the Mexican government.

Even though the trials were botched, some human rights groups believe some of the prisoners being released actually may have taken part in the massacre since the court focused only on irregularities in the trials and not on whether there was legitimate evidence against the suspects.

"This decision released people who had been clearly identified and accused by victims as the killers in this massacre," said a letter signed by a group of rights organizations.

Mexico's justice system long has been inefficient and corrupt, complicating Mexican President Felipe Calderon's attempt to rein in violent drug gangs. Judges often are accused of receiving payoffs from drug cartels, and prisoners can run smuggling businesses from inside crowded jails.

(Reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Writing by Mica Rosenberg; Edited by Will Dunham)