MEXICO CITY — There is strong evidence that Mexican police tortured some of the key suspects arrested in the disappearance of 43 students, according to a report released Sunday by a human rights group.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights group said that a study of 17 of the approximately 110 suspects arrested in the case showed signs of beatings, including, in some cases, dozens of bruises, cuts, and scrapes.

One suspect said he was nearly asphyxiated with a plastic bag, and medical studies showed another had been slapped so hard his eardrums broke and his ears bled.

The Mexican government recently released documents suggesting investigations had been opened against police and military personnel, but authorities have not answered requests about whether anyone has been arrested.

The 43 students at a radical teachers’ college have been missing since they were taken by local police in September 2014 in the city of Iguala.

Associated Press