Practice writing a quick note en espanol!
So, you just email one or all of the guys listed below (I did Senor Gubernador) and say that you stand in solidarity with the lawyers and nonprofit workers working to protect and promote the human rights of innocent victims in their country - and could he see to it that they stop being harassed, thanks.
Two full minutes tops. yalla. URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa16707.pdf
28 June 2007
UA 167/07 Fear for safety/Death threats
MEXICO
Maria Luisa Garcia Andrade (f), aged 28, human rights defender
Marisela Ortiz Rivera (f), human rights defender
Members of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (Our daughters return home)
Members of the Asociacion Nacional de Abogados Democraticos
(ANAD), National Association of Democratic Lawyers
Members of an organization set up to fight for justice for
women abducted and murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua
state, and lawyers working with them, have been threatened
and harassed, apparently because of their work.
Maria Luisa Garcia Andrade and Marisela Ortiz Rivera are
members of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (Our daughters
return home). Since 10 June, they, and lawyers of the
Asociacion Nacional de Abogados Democraticos (ANAD),
National Association of Democratic Lawyers, have been
receiving emails with insults, death threats and warnings to
stop their human rights work. On 22 June, Marisela Ortiz
received a text message on her mobile phone saying: disfruta
de la vida mientras puedas (‘‘enjoy your life while you
can’‘). On 10 June, an ANAD lawyer received a message
reading Tu seras eliminada (‘‘You will be eliminated.’‘)
The offices of Nuestra Hijas de Regreso Casa in Ciudad
Juarez office have reportedly been broken into three times
since October 2006. Cars belonging to members of the
organization and ANAD lawyers have also been broken into
three times. Documents and confidential material were
reportedly stolen on several occasions. The latest incident
happened on 20 June, when Maria Luisa Garcia’s car was
broken into and documents relating to the 2001 murder of her
sister, Lilia Alejandra Garcia Andrade (see Mexico:
Intolerable killings) were stolen. When she reported the
theft to the Chihuahua State Public Prosecutor’s Office
(Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado, PGJE), one of
the officials reportedly said, ya me entere que nos
volvieron a denunciar, porque no dejan las cosas por la paz,
total manana apareces muerta, o yo muerto! (‘‘I found out
that you’ve complained about us again, why don’t you let
things be? Either you’ll turn up dead tomorrow or I
will!’‘), presumably in reference to other complaints made
by Nuestras Hijas about the failure of the PGJE to
investigate previous incidents.
Marisela Ortiz has suffered serious intimidation before now
because of her work. On 24 October 2003 armed men stopped
her car. They pointed a gun at her head and in her mouth and
said, ahora vas a conocer lo que sufren las muertas de
Juarez (‘‘Now you’re going to find out what happens to the
women killed in Juarez.’‘) They also threatened her
daughters, who were in the car with her and then let them
go, but followed them in the car. The authorities have so
far made no progress in finding the perpetrators.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Over 400 women and girls have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez
and Chihuahua City since 1993. Approximately one in three of
these murders involved some form of sexual violence. Despite
national and international concern at the pattern of
violence against women and the impunity enjoyed by the
killers, the murders are continuing. In 2003, Amnesty
International released a report (Mexico: Intolerable
killings) highlighting the pattern of violence against women
in these two cities and the systematic failure of the
authorities to effectively prevent and punish these crimes.
A new state government in Chihuahua took some measures to
improve investigation, but many perpetrators have not been
brought to justice and those responsible for the systematic
failure of investigations have not been held to account.
Members of organizations such as Nuestras Hijas and ANAD
have been at the forefront of the campaign for truth and
justice for the women abducted and murdered in Ciudad
Juarez, and have presented a number of cases before the
Inter American Commission on Human Rights. Human rights
organizations working on the issue have been repeatedly
accused of damaging the image of Ciudad Juarez, and
seriously harassed.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern at the recent intimidation and
harassment of human rights defenders working on cases of
abducted and murdered women in Ciudad Juarez, particularly
Maria Luisa Garcia and Marisela Ortiz of Nuestras Hijas de
Regreso a Casa and lawyers of ANAD;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that they receive
protection, in accordance with their wishes;
- calling for a thorough and impartial investigation into
the email and text message threats sent to members of
Nuestras Hijas and ANAD over the past few weeks, and for
those responsible to be brought to justice;
- urging the authorities to investigate seriously the break-
ins and the thefts of confidential material suffered by
members of Nuestras Hijas and ANAD;
- 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:
Interior Minister:
Lic. Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuna
Secretario de Gobernacion,Secretaria de Gobernacion
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juarez , Del. Cuauhtemoc
Mexico D.F., C.P.06600, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5093 3414
Salutation: Senor Secretario/Dear Minister
Governor of Chihuahua State:
Lic. Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas
Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua
Palacio de Gobierno, piso 1, C. Aldama #901
Col. Centro, Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua
C.P. 31000, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 614 4293300 ext. 11066
Email: oacosta@chihuahua.gob.mx (secretary of
the Governor)
Salutation: Dear Governor/Senor Gobernador
Chihuahua State Public Prosecutor:
Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez
Procuradora del Estado de Chihuahua
Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado
Vicente Guerrero 616, Col. Centro
Chihuahua 31000, Estado de Chihuahua, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 614 415 0314
E-mail: pagonzale@buzon.chihuahua.mx
Salutation: Dear Public Prosecutor/ Senora Procuradora
General
COPIES TO:
President of the National Human Rights Commission:
Dr. Jose Luis Soberanes Fernandez
Presidente de la Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos
Periferico Sur 3469, 5º piso
Col. San Jeronimo Lidice
Mexico D.F. 10200, MEXICO
Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa:
Email: nuestrashijas@gmail.com
Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20006
Fax: 1 202 728 1698
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent
Action Office if sending appeals after 8 August 2007.
----------------------------------
Tip of the Month:
Never send the Urgent Action case sheet, or any other
Amnesty action, to a government official or a press
organization. These case sheets are meant for your
information only. It may prove harmful to the victim(s) of
human rights abuses for government officials to obtain
Urgent Action case sheets.
Two full minutes tops. yalla. URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa16707.pdf
28 June 2007
UA 167/07 Fear for safety/Death threats
MEXICO
Maria Luisa Garcia Andrade (f), aged 28, human rights defender
Marisela Ortiz Rivera (f), human rights defender
Members of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (Our daughters return home)
Members of the Asociacion Nacional de Abogados Democraticos
(ANAD), National Association of Democratic Lawyers
Members of an organization set up to fight for justice for
women abducted and murdered in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua
state, and lawyers working with them, have been threatened
and harassed, apparently because of their work.
Maria Luisa Garcia Andrade and Marisela Ortiz Rivera are
members of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (Our daughters
return home). Since 10 June, they, and lawyers of the
Asociacion Nacional de Abogados Democraticos (ANAD),
National Association of Democratic Lawyers, have been
receiving emails with insults, death threats and warnings to
stop their human rights work. On 22 June, Marisela Ortiz
received a text message on her mobile phone saying: disfruta
de la vida mientras puedas (‘‘enjoy your life while you
can’‘). On 10 June, an ANAD lawyer received a message
reading Tu seras eliminada (‘‘You will be eliminated.’‘)
The offices of Nuestra Hijas de Regreso Casa in Ciudad
Juarez office have reportedly been broken into three times
since October 2006. Cars belonging to members of the
organization and ANAD lawyers have also been broken into
three times. Documents and confidential material were
reportedly stolen on several occasions. The latest incident
happened on 20 June, when Maria Luisa Garcia’s car was
broken into and documents relating to the 2001 murder of her
sister, Lilia Alejandra Garcia Andrade (see Mexico:
Intolerable killings) were stolen. When she reported the
theft to the Chihuahua State Public Prosecutor’s Office
(Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado, PGJE), one of
the officials reportedly said, ya me entere que nos
volvieron a denunciar, porque no dejan las cosas por la paz,
total manana apareces muerta, o yo muerto! (‘‘I found out
that you’ve complained about us again, why don’t you let
things be? Either you’ll turn up dead tomorrow or I
will!’‘), presumably in reference to other complaints made
by Nuestras Hijas about the failure of the PGJE to
investigate previous incidents.
Marisela Ortiz has suffered serious intimidation before now
because of her work. On 24 October 2003 armed men stopped
her car. They pointed a gun at her head and in her mouth and
said, ahora vas a conocer lo que sufren las muertas de
Juarez (‘‘Now you’re going to find out what happens to the
women killed in Juarez.’‘) They also threatened her
daughters, who were in the car with her and then let them
go, but followed them in the car. The authorities have so
far made no progress in finding the perpetrators.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Over 400 women and girls have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez
and Chihuahua City since 1993. Approximately one in three of
these murders involved some form of sexual violence. Despite
national and international concern at the pattern of
violence against women and the impunity enjoyed by the
killers, the murders are continuing. In 2003, Amnesty
International released a report (Mexico: Intolerable
killings) highlighting the pattern of violence against women
in these two cities and the systematic failure of the
authorities to effectively prevent and punish these crimes.
A new state government in Chihuahua took some measures to
improve investigation, but many perpetrators have not been
brought to justice and those responsible for the systematic
failure of investigations have not been held to account.
Members of organizations such as Nuestras Hijas and ANAD
have been at the forefront of the campaign for truth and
justice for the women abducted and murdered in Ciudad
Juarez, and have presented a number of cases before the
Inter American Commission on Human Rights. Human rights
organizations working on the issue have been repeatedly
accused of damaging the image of Ciudad Juarez, and
seriously harassed.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern at the recent intimidation and
harassment of human rights defenders working on cases of
abducted and murdered women in Ciudad Juarez, particularly
Maria Luisa Garcia and Marisela Ortiz of Nuestras Hijas de
Regreso a Casa and lawyers of ANAD;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that they receive
protection, in accordance with their wishes;
- calling for a thorough and impartial investigation into
the email and text message threats sent to members of
Nuestras Hijas and ANAD over the past few weeks, and for
those responsible to be brought to justice;
- urging the authorities to investigate seriously the break-
ins and the thefts of confidential material suffered by
members of Nuestras Hijas and ANAD;
- 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:
Interior Minister:
Lic. Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuna
Secretario de Gobernacion,Secretaria de Gobernacion
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso, Col. Juarez , Del. Cuauhtemoc
Mexico D.F., C.P.06600, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 55 5093 3414
Salutation: Senor Secretario/Dear Minister
Governor of Chihuahua State:
Lic. Jose Reyes Baeza Terrazas
Gobernador del Estado de Chihuahua
Palacio de Gobierno, piso 1, C. Aldama #901
Col. Centro, Chihuahua, Estado de Chihuahua
C.P. 31000, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 614 4293300 ext. 11066
Email: oacosta@chihuahua.gob.mx (secretary of
the Governor)
Salutation: Dear Governor/Senor Gobernador
Chihuahua State Public Prosecutor:
Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez
Procuradora del Estado de Chihuahua
Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado
Vicente Guerrero 616, Col. Centro
Chihuahua 31000, Estado de Chihuahua, MEXICO
Fax: 011 52 614 415 0314
E-mail: pagonzale@buzon.chihuahua.mx
Salutation: Dear Public Prosecutor/ Senora Procuradora
General
COPIES TO:
President of the National Human Rights Commission:
Dr. Jose Luis Soberanes Fernandez
Presidente de la Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos
Periferico Sur 3469, 5º piso
Col. San Jeronimo Lidice
Mexico D.F. 10200, MEXICO
Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa:
Email: nuestrashijas@gmail.com
Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20006
Fax: 1 202 728 1698
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent
Action Office if sending appeals after 8 August 2007.
----------------------------------
Tip of the Month:
Never send the Urgent Action case sheet, or any other
Amnesty action, to a government official or a press
organization. These case sheets are meant for your
information only. It may prove harmful to the victim(s) of
human rights abuses for government officials to obtain
Urgent Action case sheets.