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VERACRUZ, Mexico (AP) - A special prosecutor found no evidence soldiers beat and raped an elderly Indian woman in a Gulf coast village, closing a case that outraged Indian rights groups and prompted the army to dismantle encampments in the area.
"The death of Ernestina Ascensio Rosario cannot be attributed to factors other than natural causes," Special Prosecutor Juan Alatriste said at a news conference late Monday.
Alatriste was accompanied by officials from the Veracruz state prosecutor's office, which initially claimed that four soldiers bound, beat and sodomized Ascensio, 73, on Feb. 25 in the mountain town of Soledad Atzompa, about 120 miles east of Mexico City. They based the accusation on the testimony of local residents and medical investigators.
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