JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Indigenous woman self-defense leader Nestora Salgado has finally been transferred out of a high-security prison after a 25-day hunger strike.

According to CIMAC women's news, Nestora García Salgado was transferred to a lower security prison in Mexico City on Friday, where she will finally receive medical treatment. Nestora, who had existing nerve problems, developed neuropathy in her hands and feet as a result of the denial of medical treatment in prison. After she went on hunger strike, her lawyers say her health condition worsened.

The scale of the violence in the Mexican state of Guerrero had led Nestora to abandon her life in the U.S. to return to her hometown of Olinalá, Guerrero. She founded a local self-defense group in 2013. Despite the fact that such groups are legal in Mexico, security forces arrested Nestora in August 2013. The Mexican state has deprived her of medical treatment and proper food in prison. She also reported that the "medical tests" given to her constituted torture.Nestora has not seen a courtroom in the course of her nearly two-year detention.

On May 5, Nestora started a hunger strike against her unjust imprisonment. On May 18, Mexico's secretary of human rights and Guerrero officials decided to transfer Nestora to a lower-security prison and provide her with the medical attention ordered by the Interamerican Human Rights Commission. However, the state delayed Nestora's transfer until this Friday.

A delegation from the U.S. is currently researching whether Nestora's secretive arrest violated international law, which could lead to her release. Their announcement is expected today.

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