In the state of Oaxaca PBI accompanies the following people and organisations25th of November Liberation Committee
The 25th of November Liberation Committee is a joint project led by human rights defenders and social activists. Its aims are to offer legal advice and support to victims of human rights violations, as well as to promote access to justice and to combat the impunity which surrounds crimes committed by the local authorities in Oaxaca. The organisation was founded as an independent initiative to respond to the action taken by the security forces, state and federal government during the social protests in Oaxaca in 2006 and 2007. The Committee's name commemorates the arrest and imprisonment of 139 people, and the torture and raids that took place on the 25th of November, 2006. Given the worrying threats and attacks against them, PBI accepted the request to provide international accompaniment to the 25th of November Liberation Committee. Although the Inter-American Commision on Human Rights (IACHR) granted precautionary measures to the Committee's members on the 21st of July 2007 to guarantee their security, the attacks against the Committee's members and their families continue.
Alba Cruz is the Committee's legal coordinator. Her work has been recognised both in Mexico and internationally. Alongside David Peña Rodríguez of the Asociación de Abogados Democráticos, she has represented civil society victims before the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice, in what is known as the 'Oaxaca case'. She is currently coordinating a criminal case seeking justice for more than 30 former prisoners who were arrested during the 2006 social protests and subjected to torture, threats, physical and sexual abuse. “Since 2006 I have been harassed at home and in my office; phone calls and damage to the cars I use. They have interfered with the brakes on my car, they tried to stop me working on the Juan Manuel case when I was ill […] they want me to stop, to keep quiet”. Latest news: Amnesty International: Three years at risk and still no protection for Mexican defender Alba Cruz is also the defence lawyer for Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno and Marcelino Coache Verano, who represent emblematic cases of human rights violations in Oaxaca. Martínez Moreno was imprisoned for more than a year and a half, accused of the murder of the American cameraman Bradley Roland Will. He was released in February 2010 due to the lack of evidence against him, but he is still subject to surveillance and harassment. Alba Cruz represents the union leader Marcelino Coache Verano in his criminal case for the torture he suffered during an illegal arrest in April 2009. Coache Verano and his familly are also victims of harassment and intimidation although they are beneficiaries of precautionary measures granted by the IACHR. Read the latest interview: Entrevista 19: Threats and harassment against Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno For more information on the Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno case: Entrevista 4: Justice for Juan Manuel Martínez Moreno Centre for Human Rights and Legal Advice for Indigenous Peoples (Cedhapi)
The PBI Oaxaca team has been accompanying Cedhapi's members since 2009. Founded in 2001, Cedhapi's mandate is to protect the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples. The organisation provides legal advice and denounces serious human rights violations in the Mixtec region of the state of Oaxaca. Human rights defenders working with Cedhapi requested accompaniment due to the death threats they have received because of their legal work on the Santo Domingo Ixcatlán massacre. In April 2008 Gustavo Castañeda Martínez, Melesio Martínez Robles and Inocencio Medina Bernabé were murdered by a group of armed men with alleged links to the local authorities. The armed group has continued to harass the inhabitants of Santo Domingo Ixcatlán and for this reason 177 members of the Santo Domingo Ixcatlán community were granted precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in May 2008. Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, director of the Hermanos en el Camino migrant shelterThe Catholic priest Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra and the team at the Hermanos en el Camino migrant shelter in Ciudad Ixtepec offer humanitarian aid to migrants who are crossing Mexican territory. The shelter is part of a national network of 54 shelters run by the Dimensión Pastoral de Movilidad Humana (DPMH), a body which is part of the Mexican Catholic Church. DPMH has 500 members and is divided into 6 regional departments. It also raises awareness of issues related to migration in Mexico. Father Solalinde's work to defend the human rights of migrants has made him the object of attacks, slander and harassment. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as well as the Mexican National Commission for Human Rights have granted him precautionary measures to guarantee his life and physical integrity. His work with migrants has been widely recognised within and outside Mexico; he is currently one of 11 human rights defenders selected from across the world by Amnesty International for their recent campaign Stand Up United. Accompaniment in 2007: Radio CalendaAt the request of the Mexican Commission for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters, the PBI Mexico team provided international accompaniment to members of Radio Calenda reporting on the 2007 elections. From when they first began their broadcasting work, the Radio Calenda team were victims of harassment and death threats. Due to this situation, in February 2007 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures for Radio Calenda's members. Accompaniment in 2006: Oaxacan Human Rights NetworkOn the 14th July 2007, after the attempted eviction undertaken by the State government to end the protests by state school teachers in the main square in Oaxaca, the Oaxacan Human Rights Network (RODH) requested that PBI visit the city. PBI's objective was to review the human rights situation and the security conditions for civil organisations. In September 2007, PBI accompanied a civil observation mission which aimed to observe the human rights situation in the state of Oaxaca and document violations. PBI accompanied different members of the RODH during their observation activities as a mechanism to guarantee their security. |
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