Sinaloa Autonomous University rector Jess Maduea Molina called on the university community to take up arms and fight to defend the institution after it was linked to the abuse of office trial.
“We will defend what we believe to be just. Consequently, I call on the university to take up arms, stand up, and fight for and defend the autonomy of Sinaloa Autonomous University,” he said in an institutional statement.
On August 21, Maduea Molina faced a more than 11-hour hearing in which Judge Adán Alberto Salazar Gastélum decided to implicate him in the trial, accusing him of the crime of abuse of authority.
The allegation stems from a complaint from the Superior State Audit Office, which said UAS officials refused access to the ASE in March 2023 to conduct an audit at the vicarage facilities. According to the public prosecutor’s office, this action is the responsibility of the rector, who runs the institution.
Against this background, Maduea Molina announced that his defense will appeal the judge’s decision to link him to the trial.
“Tell them that there was no surprise what we predicted happened: that’s what the prosecution wants the judge to grant, and what happened? “In order to move forward with the legal defense, we will submit an amparo,” he said.
“We will continue to defend what we believe to be fair, and we will show that we are doing things right at Sinaloa Autonomous University,” he said.
During the Maduea Molina hearing, hundreds of UAS employees stayed on the front promenade of the Justice Center and expressed their support for the rector.
“Starting today, I will call on the entire university community to mobilize, to be present in the struggle, to be here at the following hearings, to show the governor where the reason lies within the UAS,” the rector explained.
