Refugees’ horror as judge frees ‘massacre ringleaders’

A judge in Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas has released six paramilitary members convicted of taking part in the 1997 massacre of 45 rebel sympathisers, sparking fear among refugees who had fled the bloodbath.

The prisoners were convicted of killing 45 Zapatista sympathisers on December 22 while the victims prayed at a chapel in Acteal, a small village 460 miles south east of Mexico City.

‘‘We are afraid because they are the ones that organised the massacre, and they could regroup with other paramilitaries that have not been arrested and take revenge,’’ said Diego Perez, spokesman for the Las Abejas group of refugees from the Los Chorros area, where Acteal is located.

Many of the refugees fled their homes after the massacre, but hundreds have begun to return in recent weeks, saying they hope dialogue can resolve still-lingering conflicts in the region between supporters and opponents of the Zapatista rebels.

The Zapatistas staged an uprising in 1994, seizing several cities in the name of improving the plight of the country’s Indians. The move sparked land feuds and religious conflicts involving pro-and anti-rebel groups.

Judge Felipe Consuelo has freed six of the 34 people convicted of participating in the massacre because he said witness testimony was inconsistent.

Las Abejas officials said the six arrived in the Los Chorros area on Tuesday, igniting fears of new violence.

Chiapas governor Pablo Salazar condemned the judge’s decision, saying it ‘‘didn’t satisfy the demands of justice brought about after the tragic events in Acteal’’.

He said government prosecutors would appeal.

After taking office on December 1, President Vicente Fox made peace in Chiapas one of his top priorities. He withdrew troops from rebel-influenced parts of Chiapas state, had dozens of Zapatista prisoners freed, promoted a Zapatista caravan to Mexico City and embraced an Indian rights bill the rebels helped draft.

But the Zapatistas were angered when Congress passed a watered-down version of the Indian rights bill and have refused to hold formal peace meetings with Fox’s hand-picked negotiator.