Re: Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada condemns the ambush of human rights defenders in Oaxaca, Mexico
To: Lic. Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa, et al.
From: Cara Gibbons and Alyssa Brierely
Date: 2010-05-05
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) condemns the ambush of human rights defenders in Oaxaca, Mexico on April 27, 2010. These attacks resulted in the death of two human rights defenders and the injury of others after armed men opened fire on an international caravan of over 40 human rights defenders and observers, activists and journalists near the autonomous community of San Juan Copala in Oaxaca state in southern Mexico.
Mexican Beatriz Alberta Carino Trujillo, Director of Mexican human rights organization CACTUS and Finnish citizen and human rights observer Jyri Antero Jaakkola, were killed when the convoy in which they were travelling was attacked in San Juan Copala, Oaxaca. Following the attack, two journalists with the journal Contralinea – David Cilia and Erika Ramírez – and three activists – Fernando Santiago, David Venegas and Noé Bautista were missing for two days. In the morning of April 30, 2010, they were found after having spent two days hiding in the forest fearing for their lives.
LRWC calls on the Mexican authorities to investigate the attack on the human rights defenders, and to make public the results of the investigation and to make efforts to bring those responsible to justice. The measures taken must be sufficient to ensure that future groups of human rights observers, defenders, activists and journalists are able to carry out their legitimate activities without obstacles or fear of reprisals.
LRWC also calls on the authorities to publicly condemn the attack and reaffirm their commitment to the protection of human rights defenders in Mexico with prompt and effective action.
