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Yesica Sánchez Maya, lawyer
of the Liga Mexicana para la Defensa de los Derechos
Humanos (Mexican League for the Defence of Human Rights, LIMEDDH) has an
arrest warrant pending on evidence that appears to be flawed.
LIMEDDH’s staff were threatened and harassed in November
2006 (see UA 292/06, AMR 41/046/2006, 2
November 2006).(Voir : http://www.idhae.org/uk
page4.1.mex8.htm )
Le personnel de la LIMEDDH a été
menacé et harcelé en novembre 2006 (voir l’AU 292/06, AMR 41/046/2006 du 2
novembre 41/046/2006).
Human rights defender Aline
Castellanos’ home was broken into and searched while on 28 April. The burglary happened
the day after a Judge issued a warrant
for her arrest. This is the third warrant that has been issued for her
arrest. The previous two warrants were
annulled by federal injunctions.
Aline Castellanos returned home at midnight on 28 April after spending the
day in a women’s organisations meeting in Oaxaca City. She found that in
the burglary only her passport and
cash had been stolen and that nothing else of
value had been taken. It is feared that if arrested, Aline Castellanos
and Yesica Sánchez could face the same
treatment as other Oaxacan human rights activists and members of the Asamblea Popular de Pueblo de Oaxaca
(Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca,
APPO) who were arrested during the Oaxaca protests. For a recent
example further of the reported
torture and ill-treatment of those in custody see UA 92/07 (AMR 41/071/2007).
Amnesty International is concerned that human rights defenders carrying
out legitimate human rights promotion
work in Oaxaca, who are not responsible for
criminal offences, may face politically motivated arbitrary
detention, ill-treatment and fabricated
criminal charges, as they have done many times since the teacher’s strike in May 2006
triggered a political crisis in the state.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Teachers went on strike in Oaxaca state demanding better pay and conditions
in
May 2006, and occupied the main square of Oaxaca City. State police attempted
to force them out on 14 June, using excessive force. In response the APPO was
set up, an umbrella organization of social and political groups demanding the
resignation of the state governor. In a climate of increasing violence, armed
police in plain clothes arbitrarily detained many protesters and reportedly
fabricated criminal charges against them. Several APPO supporters were shot
and
killed between August and September, leading protesters to set up barricades
so
as to keep the police out of key areas of the city. In October, the federal
police entered the city, carrying out mass arrests, leading to widespread
complaints of ill-treatment. The last major confrontation took place on 25
November, causing serious damage to public buildings and causing more than
140
people to be detained. At least 35 are still in custody in connection with
disturbances in Oaxaca, while many others are on bail awaiting trial.
RECOMMENDED ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as
possible, in Spanish or your own language :
- expressing concern
for the safety of human rights defenders Yesica Sanchez and Aline
Castellanos, who face detention and prosecution on charges that appear
to be entirely without foundation and in reprisal for their legitimate
human rights work ;
- urging the
authorities to ensure that Yesica Sanchez and Aline Castellanos are
protected from any form of torture or ill-treatment, and pointing out
that other human rights defenders arrested during the protests in
Oaxaca, such as Alberto Tlacael Cilia Ocampo of the Yax’kin Human Right
Centre, have reportedly been tortured or ill-treated ;
- calling for an
investigation into the misuse of the judicial system to obstruct the
legitimate work of human rights defenders and to guarantee their safety
and their right to continue their human rights work ;
- reminding the
authorities that human rights defenders have a right to carry out their
activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals, as set out in
the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals,
Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally
Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
APPEALS TO :
President
Lic. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa
Presidente de
los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de "Los Pinos", Casa Miguel Aleman
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, MÈxico D.F., C.P. 11850, MEXICO
Fax : + 52 55 52772376
Salutation : Dear President / SeÒor Presidente
Minister of the Interior
Lic. Francisco Ramirez Acuna
Secretario de
GobernaciÛn, SecretarÌa de Gobernacion
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juarez, Delegacion Cuauhtemoc, Mexico D.F., C.P.
06600, MEXICO
Fax : + 52 55 5093 3414
Salutation : Dear Minister/Estimado Secretario
Attorney General of Oaxaca
Lic. Lizbeth Cana Cadeza
Procuradora del
Estado de Oaxaca, ProcuradurÌa General de Justicia del Estado de Oaxaca
Avenida Luis EcheverrÌa s/n, La Experimental, San Antonio de la Cal, C. P.
71236, Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MEXICO
Fax : + 52 951 511 5519
Salutation : Estimada Procuradora/Dear Attorney General
COPIES TO :
Liga
Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos
Calle Murguia 600, Col. Centro, Oaxaca, Oaxaca
C.P. 68000 MEXICO
Fax : + 52 95 1514 5298
Email : ligamexicana@prodigy.net.mx
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
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