Human rights lawyer Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, the Juarez Ombudsman for the Human Rights Commission of the State of Chihuahua(CEDH)  , Mexico,  sought temporary refuge in El Paso, Texas, claiming his life has been threatened with death because of his work  in northern Mexico.

 At the end of September, Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson  leaved Ciudad Juarez with his wife and his son aged 21, for El Paso, in Texas. On October 15, while De La Rosa was about to enter the US with his US Consulate-issued laser visa, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents detained him when he answered "yes" to their question of whether he had reason to fear for his life in Mexico. De La Rosa explained to the CBP agents that, as the Juarez Ombudsman for the Chihuahua State Human Rights Commission, his life had been threatened. He investigates accusations of human rights violations against the Mexican military. Nevertheless, Gustavo De La Rosa Hickerson said he is not seeking asylum in the United States. He simply wants the support from both the U.S. and Mexico so he can continue doing his job.

 He says they've targeted him after he detailed their hundreds of abuses in the past year. Now he's been placed in detention by U.S. Customs and Immigration.On his way home from work in Ciudad Juárez on 4 September, he stopped at a traffic light. A car pulled up beside him; the driver lowered the window, made a gun shape with his hand and pretended to shoot him, saying, "Quieten down or we are going to kill you," (Ya bájale porque te vamos a matar), and drove off. Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson asked the CEDH to provide protection, but they refused, and he has been forced to seek safety over the border in the town of El Paso, USA. Hickerson said he had documentation of 170 instances in which Mexican soldiers extorted, kidnapped, tortured, beat or killed innocent people while based in the state of Chihuahua to control the violence that has gripped it since 2008.

Nevertheless,  De La Rosa was detained alledgely  for his own safety .

Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson is a human rights lawyer who for nearly 40 years has fought to protect migrant workers, women and survivors of all kinds of violence.Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson has been in charge of the Ciudad Juárez office of the Chihuahua CEDH since April 2008. He has been one of the few officials to publicly recognise that there has been a large increase in the number of complaints of serious human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial executions in Ciudad Juárez, by the armed forces carrying out police duties. The CEDH has only limited powers to receive such complaints, but as other institutions have failed to take action the Ciudad Juárez CEDH office has undertaken to accepted complaints, publicly criticise military abuses and press the appropriate authorities to respond. This has led to severe criticism from the local military commander. The president of the CEDH based in Chihuahua City has ordered Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson to stop receiving complaints from victims of alleged abuses by the military and refused to support his request for protection. According to Gustavo de la Rosa, the CEDH has also told him that he will lose his job if he does not return to work by 6 October.

RECOMMANDED ACTION :

WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

 Calling on the authorities to provide Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson and hisn family with protection in line with his wishes so that he can continue his vital work in Ciudad Juárez;
 Calling on them to carry out a full, prompt andn impartial investigation into the threats against Gustavo de la Rosa, publish the results and bring those responsible to justice;
 Calling on the Chihuahuan State Human Rights Commission to assist in improving his security and support his work receiving complaints from victims of abuses by military personnel.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS

TO:. 

Minister of Interior
Secretario de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er piso
Col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc
México D.F., C.P.06600, MEXICO
Fax: +52 55 5093 3414
Email: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Señor Secretario/
Dear Minister

Governor of Chihuahua State

Lic. José Reyes Baeza Terrazas
Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua, Palacio de Gobierno, 1er piso, C. Aldama #901, Col. Centro,
Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, C.P. 31000, Mexico
Fax: +52 614 429 3300 (then dial extension 11066 when prompted)
Salutation: Señor Gobernador/
Dear Governor

Chihuahua Human Rights Commission

Lic. José Luis Armendáriz González
Presidente de la Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Chihuahua
Calle Décima y Mina, 1000, Col. Centro, C.P. 31000, Chihuahua, MEXICO
Fax: +52 614 410 0828

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country

PLEASE ACT NOW.

THANK YOU.