Human rights lawyer Dante Almaraz was shot dead by unknown men in the centre of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, on 26 January. He had worked on a number of cases connected with the pattern of attacks on women in Ciudad Juarez. A defendant in one of these cases, Victor Javier Garcia Uribe, may be in danger of attack. Other human rights defenders in Ciudad Juarez and the family of Dante Almaraz may also be at risk.

According to reports, Dante Almaraz was driving through central Ciudad Juarez during the afternoon of 26 January when another car blocked his way. A number of armed men got out of the car and shot Dante Almaraz repeatedly. A passenger in the car, thought to be the brother of Dante Almaraz, was also seriously wounded.

Dante Almaraz was a well-known defence lawyer in Ciudad Juarez. He had defended Victor Javier Garcia Uribe, a bus driver who was reportedly tortured into confessing to the murder of eight young women in 2001, and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. His family received anonymous death threats in an apparent attempt to stop their campaign to prove his innocence. In 2005 Dante Almaraz secured Victor Javier Garcia Uribe’s release on appeal.

Defence lawyer Mario Escobedo Anaya, who represented Victor Javier Garcia Uribe’s co-defendant in the murder case, Gustavo Gonzalez Meza, was shot dead by police in February 2002. The police claimed to be acting in self-defence, despite witness evidence contradicting this version of events. His killing was not fully investigated. In 2003 Gustavo Gonzalez Meza died in custody, in circumstances that have never been entirely clarified. In 2002 and 2003 the Inter American Commission on Human Rights ordered the Mexican government to take protection measures to ensure the safety of Dante Almaraz and others under threat (see UA 40/03, AMR 41/006/2003, 12 February 2003). The Mexican government was still bound by this order for protection, but it is unclear what measures were in place when Dante Almaraz was killed.

Dante Almaraz stated publicly in 2005 that some people within the local Public Prosecutor’s Office resented him carrying out his legal defence work. In 2005 he filed a complaint against the representatives of Chihuahua State Public Prosecutor’s Office responsible for Ciudad Juarez (Subprocuraduria General de Justicia del Estado de Chihuahua de la Zona Norte) in relation to an investigation opened against him for alleged car theft, a charge which he denied. In the weeks before his death he publicly stated that he was concerned about his safety and that he believed if anything were to happen to him then members of the local State Public Prosecutor’s Office would be responsible. An internal enquiry has reportedly been opened in the State Public Prosecutor’s Office to examine these allegations.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

More than 370 women have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with USA, since 1993. In more than half the cases the perpetrators have not been brought to justice. In several cases defendants allege that they were tortured into signing confessions by representatives of the local Public Prosecutor’s Office. These allegations have never been effectively investigated. The federal authorities identified at least 130 local officials who may have been negligent or complicit in the failure of the original investigations. However, the few prosecutions mounted against these officials have collapsed.

RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language :

• condemning the murder of Dante Almaraz and wounding of his passenger by gunmen in the streets of Ciudad Juarez, and calling for a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation into the killing, with those responsible brought to justice ;
• calling for an impartial investigation into possible links between representatives of the local Public Prosecutor’s Office and the murder of Dante Almaraz ;
• expressing concern for the safety of the family of murdered human rights lawyer Dante Almaraz, Victor Javier Garcia Uribe, and all human rights defenders in Ciudad Juarez ;
• calling on the authorities to guarantee their safety
• reminding the authorities that the UN Declaration on the Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders and their right to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals.

APPEALS TO :

Governor of the State of Chihuahua, Lic. Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas

Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua

Palacio de Gobierno, Primer piso, C. Aldama No.901, Col. Centro, CP 31000

Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, Mexico.

Fax : +52 614 429 3464 : Salutation : Senor Gobernador

Attorney General of the State of Chihuahua

Lic. Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez

Procuradora General de Justicia del Estado de Chihuahua

Calle Vicente Guerrero 616, Col. Centro, CP 31000, Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua, Mexico

Fax :+ 52 614 415 0314 : Salutation : Senora Procuradora/ Dear Prosecutor

Director of Human Rights - Interior Ministry, Dr. Ricardo Sepulveda

Secretaria de Gobernacion

Reforma 99, PISO 21, PH, Colonia Tabacalera, C.P. 06030, Mexico D.F. Mexico

Fax : + 52 55 51 28 02 34 (if someone answers say "tono de fax, por favor")

Salutation : Dear Sir/Estimado Doctor

COPIES TO :

State Human Rights Commissioner, Lic. Oscar Francisco Yanez Franco

Presidente de la Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Chihuahua

Calle Decima y Mina No.1000, Col. Centro, 31000, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Fax :+ 52 614 410 9849

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.