Human Rights in Mexico

"I am writing this letter to thank you for the support you have offered me over the past 2 years that I have been in jail," begins a letter sent by Me' phaa Indigenous prisoner of conscience Raúl Hernández. "This helps me to carry on when justice seems so far away.
Now I feel that justice is close. For this reason, I am writing this letter to ask you to ... press your support once again for my freedom, so that I can return home to my family and the OPIM (Me’ phaa Indigenous People’s Organization) to continue defending the rights of my people."

On 30 June 2010, the evidence submission stage of the case against Raúl Hernández on unfounded charges of murder was brought to a close by the presiding judge. During the course of the criminal enquiry, the judge visited the scene of the crime and concluded that the evidence submitted by an eyewitness who placed Raúl at the crime scene at the time of the murder was unreliable. In the coming weeks, the State Attorney General's Office of Guerrero will be asked for its conclusions on the case. Amnesty International believes the case should be thrown out for lack of evidence, and that Raúl has been imprisoned in reprisal for his work as a defender of the human rights of his people. 

Letter from Raúl | Take action | Sign Electronic Petition

Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that 12 activists, who were convicted of kidnapping government officials and police during a protest in the town of San Salvador Atenco in 2006, should be freed because they had been denied a fair trial. The activists were all released the following day.

"This welcome move by the Supreme Court shows that state prosecutors and judges in Mexico State relied on the denial of due process as well as illegal and fabricated evidence to secure the conviction and imprisonment of the accused," said Rupert Knox , Amnesty International's Mexico researcher. "The decision should serve as a platform for the officials responsible for perpetrating this injustice to be held accountable and for the victims to receive restitution."

Protests broke out in San Salvador Atenco, just outside Mexico City, on 3 and 4 May 2006 after local market vendors were arrested for selling flowers without a permit. Over 200 protesters were detained, two were killed and dozens more were injured during a police crackdown on demonstrations. Several police officers were also injured and some were held temporarily captive by the protestors. Amnesty International documented a series of subsequent violations, including failure to effectively investigate serious human rights violations committed by police officers, such as torture – including sexual assault of some female detainees.

Twelve members of the United Front for the Defence of Land were sentenced to between 31 and 112 years in prison after an unfair trial for their part in the alleged kidnapping of six police officers and other public officials.

"It is unacceptable that a case must reach the Supreme Court before the victims can access justice," said Rupert Knox. "This is one of many cases where evidence has been interfered with and resulted in unfair trials and grave miscarriages of justice. It is time to end the impunity invariably enjoyed by those who misuse the justice system to suit vested interests."

PHOTO: Press conference organised by Frente de Pueblos Unidos en Defensa de la Tierra (FPDT – United Front for the Defence of the Land) in 2006 to highlight ongoing concerns about human rights violations perpetrated in San Salvador Atenco. Photo credit: Private

Mexico's President Felipe Calderón (left) begins a state visit to Canada on May 26, amidst a massive increase in complaints about serious human rights violations allegedly committed by Mexican state security forces in the context of its "war on drugs". On Friday, Amnesty International Canada and AI Mexico sent a joint Open Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Felipe Calderón. It calls for human rights to be front and centre during the state visit, along with substantive action to address serious concerns.

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Photo above: Mexican President Felipe Calderon (left) and US Army Maj. Gen. Karl R. Hors, commanding general, Joint Force Headquarters during a visit to the US on 20 May 2010. (Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)

Amnesty International has just released a new report that states Mexico is now one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas for human rights defenders. Monitoring over the last two years shows a sustained pattern of killings, threats, intimidation, harassment and unfounded prosecutions. Those who work to defend the rights of Indigenous and other marginalized communities - efforts that often put them on a collision course with powerful vested interests - are at particular risk.

This is the reality faced by Obtilia Eugenio Manuel, Raúl Hernández and other members of the Organization of Me 'phaa Indigenous People, who I had the honour to visit last August. Their courageous commitment to struggle for human rights despite grave risks calls out for a similar commitment on our part. There is an urgent need for us to help by pressing both Canadian and Mexican authorities for concrete measures to protect human rights defenders and their important efforts on behalf of so many others.  

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Photo: Human rights defender Obtilia Eugenio Manuel (left) and other members of the Organization of Me' phaa Indigenous People find support in maple leaves with solidarity messages sent by Amnesty Canada activists.

 

A new report released by Amnesty International today reveals a disturbing pattern of serious and escalating human rights violations perpetrated by members of the Mexican military in the context of operations purportedly to combat drug trafficking and organized crime. The violations include arbitrary detention, torture, forced disappearance and extrajudicial killings. Amnesty's new report also documents how both civilian and military authorities frequently fail to investigate complaints of abuses by members of the military in a prompt, impartial and effective manner in order to ensure those responsible are brought to justice. 

Amnesty International recognizes the severity of the public security crisis facing Mexico, where powerful drug cartels are responsible for thousands of kidnappings and murders. Yet the new report concludes that this crisis cannot justify illegal methods by state security forces or be used as a pretext for turning a blind eye when abuses are committed by members of the military. Indeed, abuses and impunity will not resolve the crisis in public security in Mexico but only contribute to it. 

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"I am innocent!" Those were the first words that Indigenous prisoner of conscience Raúl Hernández had to say when we met in a boiling hot prison in Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero where Raúl has been held for nearly a year and a half, falsely accused of murder. 

I had joined more than 40 members of AI Mexico taking part in a "caravana" from Mexico City that aimed to provide moral support to boost Raúl's spirits, as well as create public pressure for his release.

It was tremendously moving to see the smile that spread across Raúl's face as he looked out through prison bars to see a huge banner made from a photo of Canadian activists holding a sign of support (taken at our AGM in Halifax this past June), while AI Mexico activists chanted: "Defending Indigenous rights is not a crime. Free Raúl now!" It was also encouraging that media in Guerrero made the caravana front page news, and that the articles were lying on a desk as we headed in to a meeting with the Interior Minister for Guerrero.

It is clear that Raúl is suffering a huge injustice and that his imprisonment is a means to retaliate against his work with the Organization of Me' phaa Indigenous People (OPIM). It is also deeply worrying that other leaders of that organization continue to be threatened with assassination. International pressure is urgently needed to support these brave human rights defenders.

Article about the caravan | Release | Take action

Messages of concern are urgently needed to protect Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Guadalupe Castro (left), following threats, intimidation and an attack on the vehicle that ironically was carrying Margarita home from a meeting to request police protection. 

Margarita and Guadalupe Castro lost their husbands Raúl Lucas Lucía and Manuel Ponce Rosas, after they were abducted tortured and killed in February 2009. The men were leaders of the Organization for the Future of the Mixtec People. Margarita and Guadalupe are active members of the same Indigenous rights organization in the state of Guerrero. 

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Raúl Hernández has spent more than 15 months in jail for a crime he did not commit. Raúl is a member of the Me’ phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (OPIM), in the state of Guerrero. His unjust incarceration on fabricated charges is the latest in a sequence of events which have severely hindered the work of those trying to defend the human rights of Me’ phaa Indigenous communities. The southern state of Guerrero, which is home to some 116,000 Me’ phaa Indigenous People, has one of the highest levels of marginalization and some of the lowest indicators of human development in the country.

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Mexico's President Calderón and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will join other government leaders from April 17 to 19 for the Fifth Summit of the Americas. On the agenda are proposals to promote prosperity and energy security amidst the global economic crisis.

At the end of March, Amnesty warned that the Summit's Draft Declaration falls short on human rights and issued a series of recommendations for urgently needed action. These recommendations are particularly crucial in Mexico, where conflict and violence has erupted in communities defending their land and rights amidst controversial resource extraction projects.

Now we need your help. Add your name to our on-line petition, demanding concrete steps to put human rights first. Sign the petition and encourage others to do so too. Millions of lives are at stake, in Mexico and across the Americas.

Take Action: Sign the Petition | Media release: Summit of the Americas Draft declaration falls short on human rights

We are deeply saddened to report that the bodies of two Mixtec human rights defenders, Raúl Lucas Lucía (left) and Manuel Ponce Rosas (right), were found on 22 February with signs of torture. Amnesty International had issued an Urgent Action on their behalf after the two leaders of the Organisation for the Future of the Mixtec People were abducted by armed men claiming to be policemen during a public event on 13 February.

In a public statement, Amnesty International called on Mexican authorities to find and bring to justice all those responsible for this terrible crime. Amnesty also called for urgent steps to guarantee the safety of other defenders of Indigenous rights in Guerrero and their families amidst an ongoing, dangerous pattern of harassment and intimidation.

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