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• LEONEL GUADALUPE RIVERO RODRIGUEZ - Lawyer
• SAMUEL ALFONSO CASTELLANOS PIÑÓN - Lawyer
  BEATRIZ CASAS ARELLANES - Lawyer
• SERGIO DANTE ALMARAZ - Lawyer
• ARTURO REQUENSES GALNARES - Human Rights Defender for ACAT 
• DIGNA OCHOA
• PILAR NORIEGA AND BARBARA ZAMORA 
• MARISELA ORTÍZ RIVERA - Human Rights Defender
• MARIO CÉSAR ESCOBEDO ANAYA - Lawyer
• EVANGELINA ARCE - Human Rights Defender
• MARCELINO SANTIAGO PACHECO - Human Rights Defender
• ERNESTO LEDESMA ARRONTE - Human Rights Defender

Leonel Guadalupe Rivero Rodriguez is a Mexican lawyer who represents almost 20 students who were detained through mass arrests at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), National Autonomous University of Mexico in February 2000. Rodriguez is also involved in another high profile case, representing two alleged members of the armed opposition group Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo Insurgente (ERPI), Revolutionary Army of the Insurgent People, arrested in October 1999. [AMR 41/023/2000] He was also a colleague of human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa, who was shot dead in her office in October 2001. [AMR 41/018/2002]

On March 29, 2000 Rodriguez’s home was broken into. The motive of the crime was apparently to steal his computer which contained files on the UNAM case. On May 12, 2000 at approximately 10:30 p.m. several rocks where thrown through the windows of his home. On January 2, 2000 Juan de Dios Hernández Monje and Pilar Noriega García, two other lawyers representing UNAM students, received verbal death threats and Juan de Dios Hernández Monje was hit in the face. Shortly after these incidences Rodríguez filed a formal complaint with the local Public Ministry (Ministerio Público), in Ecatepec de Morelos, México state. [AMR 41/017/2000]

On April 6, 2002 at 6:10 a.m. three men approached two of Rodriguez’s bodyguards who were waiting outside of his home. The three men pretended to be drunk but then attacked the bodyguards, beat them and took their guns. They handcuffed one bodyguard and locked the other in the trunk of a car. They asked the bodyguards who they were waiting for and indicated that they were going to ''do him in'' when he arrived.

The Mexican government had assigned the bodyguards to Leonel Guadalupe Rivero after the murder of Digna Ochoa, at the request of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the order of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made October 2001. The human rights lawyers' association, the Centre for Justice and International Law (Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional, CEJIL), has now asked the Inter-American Court on Human Rights to petition the government to strengthen the protection he is receiving. [AMR 41/018/2002]

Samuel Alfonso Castellanos Piñón and Beatriz Casas Arellanes are lawyers working with the Oaxaca regional office of Acción de los Cristianos para la Abolición de la Tortura, (ACAT), Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture. In October 2002 the two lawyers officially took over the defense of individuals accused of committing the May 2002 Agua Fria killings in which 26 indigenous people were gunned down. Testimony from the accused individuals alleged that their confessions to state authorities were extracted using torture. Since taking over the case, 16 of the accused have been released on bail. On February 24, 2003 the remained 10 accused were granted an appeal in on their case. The same day Piñón made a statement to members of the press highlighting the irregularities and abuse in the case and called for the release of the remaining accused. [AMR 41/009/2003]

On March 1, 2003 the two lawyers received an anonymous death threat at their ACAT office. The letter warned that if Piñón did not stop working on the Agua Fria defense that he would be killed. The letter also contained insults and threats aimed at Arellanes and other members of the ACAT offices. That evening, after leaving his office, Piñón was openly followed by an unknown man. As he proceeded he noticed two addition men following him. All three men indicated that they were carrying arms beneath their clothing. [Ibid]

On March 31, 2003 another death threat was delivered to the ACAT offices. The letter suggested that whoever had written it was knowledgeable about the daily routines of those involved with the cases. The threat restated that if they did not stop working on the case that Piñón would be killed and others would be harmed. [AMR 41/017/2003]

On April 28, 2003 an anonymous letter was again delivered to the ACAT offices. This time the letter makes reference to the habitual movements of the threatened people, mentioning that those who are being threatened are watched in the courts as well as their offices and where they farm. [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.laneta.apc.org:8080/dh1/busqueda/sitio/home_html%3Fop1%3D1%26inf%3D523&prev=/search%3Fq%3DSamuel%2BAlfonso%2BCastellanos%2BPiñón%2B%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8]   It is possible to emphasize that this official notice The letter stated that if the defendants go free that the lives of their lawyers would be in jeopardy. The letter included license plate numbers of vehicles used by the defense staff. [http://www.web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ESLAMR410212003?open&of=ESL-346]

The threats have been reported to the Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado (State Public Prosecutor's Office), and the Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos (State Human Rights Commission) and are believed to be an attempt to obstruct the work of the defense team. [AMR 41/009/2003]   Despite the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights requesting the protection of those involved in the case, the authorities have not carried out an extensive investigation of the case nor have they publicly condemned the threats against human right defenders in the region. According to information received, on one occasion a municipal police officer was seen patrolling the area surrounding the ACAT office, but that seems to be the only measures taken. The Comision Estatal de Derechos Humanos has requested that the State Public Prosecutor’s Office take measures to ensure the security of the defense team, but has not formulated an official recommendation on the case. [http://www.web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ESLAMR410212003?open&of=ESL-346]

Sergio Dante Almaraz, a lawyer for Victor Javier Garcia who was detained, along with Gustavo González Meza, for the murder of eleven women in Ciudad Juárez, maintains that his client had been tortured while in custody and forced to make a false confession. [ AMR 41/006/2003]

On February 2, 2002, Mario Escobedo Anaya, Meza’s lawyer was shot dead by state judicial police. On February 8, 2003 Gustavo González Meza was found dead in his cell in the Maximum Security Prison in Chihuahua. According to released reports, Meza died as a result of a blood clot following a hernia operation. [Ibid]

Dante Almaraz said he has also received telephone death threats telling him to give up his defense work. He has said he had no doubt that state police were responsible for the threats, but said he would not give up the case. "The next time you call me, I'll probably be dead, too," they (state authorities) "are eliminating us one by one." Dante Almarez says he was advised: 'If you do not drop the case, we'll kill you the same way we did Escobedo.' [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4621258,00.html]

Miriam García, Victor’s wife, received a threat by telephone, the same day that Escobedo Anaya was shot. The caller claimed that she would also die if she continued to speak out. Amnesty International has also received reports that the houses of the relatives of the detainees have continually been under surveillance by unknown persons. This is despite the Inter-American Human Commission on Rights issuing protection measures on behalf of Miriam Garcia, Blanca Guadalupe, the lawyer Sergio Dante Almaraz and another local human rights defender in September 2002. [AMR 41/006/2003]

Arturo Requenses Galnares is a human rights defender for Acción de los Cristianos para la Abolición de la Tortura, (ACAT), Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture. Galnares has been working on several torture cases and posible disappearnace cases in Mexico and has recently called for an investigation into the murder of Digna Ochoa.[ http://www.amnesty.ie/act/mex/hrd-ap1.shtml]  He, and a relative of someone who had possibly "disappeared", were able to gain access with a judicial order to a unit of the Agencia Federal de Investigaciones, (AFI), Federal Agency of Investigations, in order to gain information on the whereabouts of the victim.

On July 16, 2002 he noticed six men in a unmarked van with blacked-out windows slowly drive past his home. On July 17th he received a message on his mobile phone which consisted of a gun being cocked. [AMR 41/026/2002]   This case is yet another example of the sad fact that those involved in protecting human rights in Mexico continue to be the target of threats and harassment.

Marisela Ortíz Rivera is the co-president of Nuestras Hijas de Regrso a Casa, So That Our Daughters Return Home [http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2612], which is an organization created by relatives of missing and murdered women of Ciudad, Juarez, Mexico. The organization has made repeated attempts to prompt the authorities to effectively investigate these crimes so that the families can understand what has happened to their loved ones. The organization has frequently criticized the local authorities publicly for failing to do so. [AMR 41/018/2003]

On March 20, 2003 as Marisela was driving home, she was followed by a van which proceeded to ram into her vehicle at a set of traffic lights. Although she was able to flee, the driver of the van was spotted outside of her home the following day. Her family reported the incident, including the details of the van and its driver, to the police but they have received no further information on the case or its status. [Ibid]

In August 2002, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Organization of American States, Juan Mendez, was in Juárez to discuss immigration to the US. He found himself ambushed by a delegation led by Marisela's partner in founding Nuestras Hijas, Rosario Acosta, plus five bereaved mothers. Thus began the coming phase in the campaign for justice in Juárez. Nuestras Hijas, with others, intends to file suit through the Inter-American Court against the Mexican government for failing to intervene in the deaths of women in Juárez. One document supporting their case, compiled by a commission tasked by the Mexican government itself in 1998, damned the state authorities and then vanished down a black hole.[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4621258,00.html]

Mario César Escobedo Anaya, a 29-year-old defense lawyer in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico was killed in a police chase on February 5, 2002. At the time of the shooting Escobedo Anaya was the defense lawyer for Gustavo Gonzalaz Meza, one of two men accused of murdering eleven women in Ciudad Juárez. The lawyer maintained that his client had been tortured while in custody and forced to make a false confession. Days before his death, Escobedo had announced he would file a criminal complaint against state officials for allegedly kidnapping and torturing his client.[http://www.iachr.org/annualrep/2002eng/chap.vi.juarez.2.htm]

State police claim that they shot in self-defense and that Escobedo Anaya did not pull over when they pursued him in two separate police vehicles. They said Escobedo fired two shots at the officers, who then riddled his vehicle with bullets. Escobedo died at the scene. [http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mexico/news/ap020802.html]   A passenger in Escobedo Anaya’s vehicle told the press that they did not know they were being chased by police until they got out of their vehicle, as both police cars were unmarked. [http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/mar02/feat2.html]   Police also claimed that they mistook Escobedo Anaya for Francisco Estrada, who allegedly murdered a state police officer. The officers claim that they only opened fire because Escobedo Anaya shot at them first. They have stated that chemical tests have shown that the victim did fire a gun. While the investigation continues the agents have been suspended with pay.[http://www.iachr.org/annualrep/2002eng/chap.vi.Juarez.2.htm] The death was investigated but no charges were made against the agents involved.[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4621258,00.html]

A journalist taking pictures at the scene of the crime shows an unmarked Jeep Grand Cherokee, driven by police, with no bullet holes while the vehicle of Escobedo Anaya shows at least ten. A few hours later the same journalist took pictures of the Jeep outside of the Attorney General’s Office, which clearly show a bullet hole on the hood of the Jeep. The journalist reported that the Jeep was not registered as an official state vehicle but was the private vehicle of Commander Roberto Alejandro Castro Valles. [http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/mar02/feat2.html]   "This has all the signs of being a crime aimed at executing a lawyer for his work in exposing the illicit means that state police use to extract confessions," said Chihuahua Sen. Javier Corral Jurado. State Attorney General Jose Silva told a news conference "we regret the death of this person, who, out of confusion or error, did not stop when told to do so.”

The victim's father, Mario Escobedo, told local media he blamed the state police for his son's death, and said his son had received telephone calls threatening to kill him unless he gave up the case. "Ever since we took on the defense of these poor men, we began receiving threats, and they said they were going to leave a little present at our offices," said the father, who is also a lawyer in Ciudad Juárez. [http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mexico/news/ap020802.html]

A few days after the incident his father said that he found a witness to the event that would testify that one of the agents involved in the chase got out of a car and then shot his son, or shot at his son, after the crash. Later, on February 19, Escobedo Salazar, an evidence expert and other lawyers took another look at the vehicle Escobedo Anaya was driving during the chase. Apparent to the entire group was that some of the shots could only have hit the truck after it had crashed when certain parts of the wrecked vehicle became exposed. [Ibid]

Evangelina Arce is a member of the Comité Independiente de Derechos Humanos de Chihuahua, Independent Committee of Human Rights in Chihuahua, Mexico, a nonprofit NGO.

On April 30, 2003 Evangelina was assaulted in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua state, Mexico. The three unidentified men who assaulted her took her purse and kicked her repeatedly. The week before the attack Evangelina noticed an unidentified car parked outside of her house and she began receiving numerous anonymous phone calls.

Evangelina has been working with the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico to put pressure on the authorities to carry out an investigation regarding the abduction of her daughter [AMR 41/019/2003].  She pounded on the doors of many a police office after 27-year-old Sylvia, who worked as a cosmetics saleswoman, vanished in 1998. Arce asserts that she encountered little help, snide insinuations, and unprofessional conduct. "Since Sylvia disappeared, the only information that's known about her has come about because of the investigation I've continued to carry out," says Arce. "I found out that another young woman who accompanied Sylvia disappeared with her too. Later on, the authorities were saying that Sylvia was a stripper, a drug addict, and a provocative dresser," Arce adds. "She had a husband and three children, and all this is a lie." [http://www.americaspolicy.org/updater/2001/mar8terror_body.html]

A 1998 report by the Mexican government's National Human Rights Commission recommended that the Chihuahua state attorney general and mayor of Juárez be investigated for negligence. In response to the frequent criticisms leveled against her office, Special Prosecutor Ponce concedes that the investigations were in a state of disarray when she came aboard in November 1998. Compounding the problem was the lack of basic tools for collecting evidence, such as paper bags. Things were so bad that government personnel were socializing and smoking near recovered corpses. [Ibid]

But Ponce contends that significant advances have been made under her watch. Trainers from the U.S. FBI and El Paso Police Department were enlisted to assist local police in acquiring investigative skills. Computers and digital maps were obtained, and DNA testing equipment is scheduled to be added to Ponce's inventory later this year. "We now have sufficient resources to move forward with these investigations," she adds optimistically. Ponce claims that 38 out of the 52 reported women's murder cases that occurred between 1998 and early February 2001 have been solved. [Ibid]

Marcelino Santiago Pacheco, member of Organización de Pueblos Indígenas Zapotecos (OPIZ), Organization of Zapotec Indigenous Peoples has not been seen since leaving his residence in Oaxaca City on April 27, 2003. The spokesman for OPIZ, and member of the National Movement for the Freedom of Political Prisoners and Prisoners of Conscience (La Coordinacion Nacional por la Libertad de los Presos Politicos y de Conciencia) Juan Sosa Maldonado, claimed to have spoken with Mr. Pacheco the night before his disappearance. On April 27th, 2002, at about 8:30 p.m. Mr. Moldonado and Mr. Pacheco had a brief conversation, agreeing to wait for colleagues coming from Loxicha, and discussing an important meeting taking place the following Tuesday in Oaxaca. The following day, Monday, April 28th, 2002, Mr. Pacheco left home some time after 2 p.m. headed towards the centre, leaving his recently washed laundry drying. He has not been seen by his family since. [http://www.hri.ca/alerts/viewAlert.asp?ID=599]

In 1997 Marcelino Santiago Pacheco and Felipe de Jesus Antonio Santiago were imprisoned for four years after nine months of forced disappearance. During this period, they were interrogated and brutally tortured in clandestine prisons. [AMR 41/020/2003]   After nine months of disappearance and torture, followed by four years in prison for crimes of which he was innocent, Marcelino Santiago Pacheco was pardoned and released at the end of July 2002. In October 2002, OPIZ filed an official legal complaint against Diodoro Carrasco Altamirano, former governor of the state of Oaxaca and former federal Minister of the Interior, as well as against the former state attorney-general and the former director of the state judicial police. The complaint was based on the violations of the rights of indigenous Zapotecans that were committed during the term of office of former Governor Carrasco. At the time of his recent disappearance, Marcelino Santiago Pacheco was waiting to be called to give his testimony. [http://www.s-j-c.net/UA1012.htm]

Ernesto Ledesma Arronte is the director and found of the human rights organization Centro de Análisis Político e Investigaciones Sociales y Económicas (CAPISE) Centre for Political Analysis and Social and Economic Research in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. On November 18, 2002 Arronte arrived home to find the gas turned on the kitchen window closed. Although there was no sign of a forced entry Arronte had not left the stove on when he left the house earlier that day and he has left the kitchen window open. [AMR 41/001/2003]

On January 1, 2003 Arronte was at his, home celebrating New Year’s, when he received an intimidating phone call. When his brother answered the phone the caller replied, “we are going to kill you son of a bitch (te vamos a matar hijo de puta) and hung up. Two days later he arrived at the CAPISE office to find the door was half-open. The door had been locked the previous night and no one from the organization reported having been in the office since that time. The incident is believed to be another act of intimidation as nothing was stolen from the office. [Ibid]

These actions are believed to have been an attempt to prevent Arronte from carrying out his work denouncing human rights violations committed against indigenous communities in Chiapas, particularly by armed forces and paramilitary groups. The threats against Mr. Arronte's life follow a troubling pattern of attacks against human rights defenders throughout Mexico. [Ibid]

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