Mexican Twitter 'terrorists' walk free

Earlier this month, a case of "Twitter terrorism" was reported in Mexico, which could have led to a major civil rights breach. Gilberto Martinez, a math teacher and Maria de Jesus Bravo, a local radio host had tweeted an armed attack on a local school in Veracruz. The rumours were of gunmen attacking the school and taking students hostage. Of course, the rumours caused widespread panic and road accidents, as parents rushed to the school. The two tweeters had been on trial and had been placed behind bars for three weeks, until Wednesday, when they had walked out of jail according to their attorney, Fidel Ordonez.

The 'terrorists' got out of jail

Their attorney also said that it would be international pressure that would set the pair free as being punished for this act would have violated Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Mexico signed. The pair's case was that they were merely doing their civic duty of reporting a warning of a threat, which later turned out to be untrue. Ordonez said, "The government was shamed into setting them free". It was, in fact public outcry on civil liberties being taken away that helped the pair walk free. The original law would have sent the pair to jail for 30 years.