Mexico missing students inquiry boss resignsSeptember 15, 2016 - 10:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The head of Mexico's criminal investigation agency, charged with looking into the disappearance of 43 college students, has resigned, according to BBC News. The families of the students, who have not been seen since September 2014, had demanded that Tomas Zeron resign. No reason was given for him standing down on Wednesday, September 14. Families have disputed the government's official version of events, which said the students were killed and incinerated at a dump site. The government had said that the students were arrested by municipal police on 26 September 2014 in the town of Iguala, in Guerrero state. The prosecutor general at the time, Jesus Murillo Karam, said the police had handed the students over to a drug trafficking gang, who had killed them at the rubbish dump and then built a large funeral pyre with the bodies to burn them. Two independent international investigations have since dismissed those initial claims, and the families of the missing had asked that other avenues be explored. Zeron oversaw investigators as well as the forensic work of the criminal investigation agency. However his own handling of a crime scene was placed under investigation in April following criticism from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It emerged he had visited the fire scene a day before evidence was found, along with one of the alleged gang members, without noting the visit in official records. Relatives of the missing college students said they would hold a press conference on Zeron's departure on Thursday. Photo: AFP Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |