Communications sent Urgent appeals

241. On 26 June 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding the case of Sin Fronteras IAP, an organization dedicated to the promotion and defence of the rights of migrants and refugees. According to the information received, on 15 June 2001 an unidentified man stole the main computer of the administrative and social section of the organization, and a printer. The computer reportedly contained important and confidential information that if used could put in danger the lives of those concerned. It was further reported that the man knew about the organization's location, the names of the various employees and the places where the computer material was kept.

242. On 23 July 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, a member of the Organization de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petetlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESP). The organization campaigns to stop the logging operations of local groups, backed-up by military or paramilitary groups, that are threatening forests in the State of Guerrero. According to the information received, Mr. Cabrera Gonzalez was arrested on 14 July 2001 by

the 19th Infantry Battalion in the community of Banco Nuevo, Petetlan municipality. After his arrest, he was reportedly taken to Petetlan and then transferred to Acapulco civil prison and charged with illegal possession of arms. Fears have been expressed that these acts are related to Mr. Cabrera Gonzalez's activities with OCESP and that he is at risk of being tortured or ill-treated while in detention.

243. On 31 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal

with the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the case of General Jose Francisco Gallardo Rodriguez. According to the information received, General Gallardo has been held in detention since 9 November 1993 after the publication of an article expressing the need to create a military

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ombudsman in Mexico in relation with human rights violations committed by members of the national armed forces. General Gallardo was subsequently accused of defamation, calumny and abuses against the army and sentenced to 28 years' imprisonment. The Secretary for National Defence stripped him of his military rank. It has been further reported that, on 28 August 2001, General Gallardo was transferred to the punitive cell inside Neza-Bordo prison where the conditions of detention are reportedly cruel, inhuman and degrading. It has also been reported that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States acknowledged that the rights of General Gallardo to freedom, judicial guarantees and to the protection of his honour and dignity have been violated. IACHR has recommended that General Gallardo be released immediately and that all necessary measures be taken to end the campaign of persecution, defamation and harassment against him. In addition, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has emitted an opinion (No. 28/1998) recognizing that the deprivation of General Gallardo's liberty was illegal.

244. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning Ms. Marina Patricia Jimenez Ramirez, director of the human rights organization Centro Fray Bartolome de las Casas, in San Cristobal de las Casas, State of Chiapas. According to the information received, Ms. Jimenez Ramirez has been kept under surveillance by two unknown men who reportedly falsified their identity. It was reported that among other incidents, on 17 September 2001, employees of the travel agency "Santa Ana Tours" reportedly declared that two men, both claiming to be members of the Centro, visited the agency asking for detailed information on the visit Ms. Jimenez Ramirez planned to take to Guatemala in November 2001.

245. On 23 October 2001, the Special Representative sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding the murder on 19 October 2001 of Ms. Digna Ochoa y Placido, a human rights defender and member of the Centro de Derechos Humanos "Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez" (PRODH) in Mexico. According to the information received, Ms. Digna Ochoa was found dead in a legal office in the centre of Mexico City. The killers reportedly left a death threat warning other human rights defenders from the PRODH, that they would meet a similar fate if they continued their human rights work. Fears have been expressed that human rights lawyers

Ms. Pilar Noriega and Ms. Barbara Zamora, who worked with Ms. Digna Ochoa on very high-profile cases are at particular risk. It has been reported that Ms. Digna Ochoa had reportedly been threatened with death and attacked many times since 1995. Although the authorities provided police protection for Ms. Digna Ochoa and other PRODH members, it has been reported that they failed in their responsibility to investigate properly the aggression and threats, thus creating a climate of impunity leading to Ms. Digna Ochoa's murder and other threats against her colleagues.

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246. On 24 October 2001, the Special Representative, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers issued a press statement to express their deep sadness and outrage over the murder on 19 October 2001 of renowned human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa y Placido in Mexico City. They stated that it demonstrated the vulnerability of human rights defenders and underlined the need for strengthening measures for their protection.

247. On 7 November 2001, the Special Representative sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture regarding alleged death threats against human rights defenders, members of the Red Nacional Mexicana de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos "Todos los Derechos para Todos". According to the information received, on 27 October 2001, the offices of Periodico Reforma in Mexico City received a phone call claiming the murder of Digna Ochoa and containing death threats and schemes to execute the following persons: Mr. Juan Antonio Vega, a former member of the international office of Action de los Cristianos para la abolition de la Tortura and technical secretary of the Red Nacional "Todos los Derechos para Todos",

Mr. Miguel Sarre, a member of the "Comite para la Humanizacion de las Practicas Incriminatorias", Mr. Fernando Ruiz, a member of the Consejo para la Ley y los Derechos, Mr. Sergio Aguayo, a member of the Academia Mexicana de Derechos Humanos", Mr. Edgar Cortez, a member of the Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez. In addition, the threats reportedly included demands for the remittance of six million pesos for each person.

248. On 28 November 2001, the Special Representative sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of indigenous people's human rights and fundamental freedoms regarding the death threats allegedly sent by e-mail on 1 November 2001 to Mr. Aldo Gonzalez and

Ms. Melina Hernandez Sosa, members of the Union de Organizaciones de la Sierra de Oaxaca (UNOSJO). These facts are reportedly connected with the work of UNOSJO for the promotion and defence of indigenous rights in the Sierra Juarez region in Oaxaca State.

Allegation letters

249. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a communication regarding the following cases.

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250. On 11 October 1999, Maria Estela Garcia Ramirez and Nestora Ramirez, members of the Union de Pueblos Contra la Represion en la Region Loxicha, were reportedly harassed and intimidated by the police while providing help to families in difficulty in the Loxicha region. On several occasions, they were both followed by the police while exercising their activities. In some cases, they have reportedly been subjected to force.

251. According to the source, Mr. Juan Lopez Villanueva, an attorney in the Legal Department of the Human Rights Centre "Fray Bartolome de las Casas" at San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, received threats by e-mail. According to the information received, on 19 January 2000 a complaint concerning these death threats was filed with the Federal Ministry of Public Affairs, followed by a second complaint filed with the State Commission for Human Rights in January 2000.

252. Mr. Isaias Martinez Gervacio, a member of the Asociacion de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos y Victimas de Violaciones a los Derechos Humanos en Mexico

(AF ADEM-FEDERAM), State of Guerrero, was reportedly trailed by an unknown armed person on 2 March 2000. On the same day, a young person, purporting to be an agent of the Ministry of Public Affairs, presented himself at Mr. Martinez Gervacio's house without showing any official identification and asked to see his son, who had disappeared in March 1978. It was further reported that these events took place after Mr. Martinez Gervacio had taken part in a press conference organized on 1 March 2000 by the AFADEM Executive Committee on the serious and systematic human rights violations and the situation of impunity in the State of Guerrero, in particular in the region of Atoyac. Mr. Martinez Gervacio presented himself to the Commander of the Police Prevention Department, Mr. Neftali Ponce Velez, but reportedly no protection has been made available to him.

253. Information has been requested by the Special Representative concerning the murder on 15 April 2000 of Mr. Jose Luis Rodriguez, as well as the murders on 20 April 2000 of Mr. Jose Martinez Ramon and Mr. Felipe Nava Gomez, both members of the Organization Campesina de la Sierra del Sur (OCSS). She also requested information about Mr. Marco Antonio Abadicio Mayo, the leader of the OCSS, in Atoyaquillo, State of Guerrero, who was reportedly caught in a fusillade on 19 July 2000 on his way home. It was reported that his aggressors might belong to paramilitary groups. Previously, on 12 January 2000, Mr. Abadicio Mayo was reportedly threatened, arrested and tortured for 12 hours by members of the army and afterwards released without charges. Mr. Abadicio Mayo is reportedly the victim of continuous threats and harassment, especially by persons from outside the community who have been seen prowling around his house at night. It was further reported that Mr. Marcos Torres Campos, leader of the OCSS, was murdered on 4 July 2001 in the municipality of Coynca de Benitez, State of

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Guerrero. Mr. Marcos Torres Campos had participated, since 28 June 2001, in the roadblocks and in the Planton (permanent strike) by the OCSS outside the town hall of the municipality to request a meeting with the secretary general of the state government. The Public Prosecutor has reportedly initiated an investigation in order to identify those responsible.

254. According to the information received, Professor Raul Gatica Bautista, leader of the Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca (CIPO) "Ricardo Flores Magon" and his 17-year-old son were both insulted, threatened with death and beaten on 16 April 2000 by six armed individuals led by a federal agent. It was further reported that several policemen of San Isidro Monjes, municipality of Xoxocotlan, managed to stop the attackers.

255. Mr. Maurilio Santiago Reyes, an attorney and defender of Indians' rights and Ms. Maria del Pilar Marroquin, his employee, allegedly received a number of threatening phone calls

on 10 May 2000. It was reported that, on 9 May 2000, both had noticed a van without registration plates driving around Mr. Maurilio Santiago Reyes's home at Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca. These threats were reportedly connected with the complaints that both had filed with a criminal court against civil servants for violations of the rights of indigenous people.

256. According to the information received, Mr. Jaime Cuevas Mendoza, member of the Enlace Comunicacion y Capacitacion, based in Ocosingo, State of Chiapas, was knocked down by a car on 12 June 2001 outside the house of Mr. Antonio Paoli Bolio, coordinator of the Comite de Derechos Humanos Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada. The police reportedly chased the person responsible, but failed to arrest him or her.

257. Mr. Freddy Secundino Sanchez, a journalist, was reportedly abducted and later released in June 2000 in connection with articles he had published in the political review Epoca. According to the information received, those responsible for abducting him could be agents of the judiciary police. It was reported that three weeks later an unidentified man made a telephone call to the journalist and told him that he would die. According to the source, Mr. Freddy Secundino Sanchez reported the facts to the authorities.

258. Mr. Placido Camargo Ruiz, a primary school teacher and militant in the educational sector, and a member of Section X of the National Educational Workers' Union (SNTE), was reportedly the victim of enforced disappearance on 16 June 2000 on his way to work in the Federal District of Mexico. He has not been found yet. It was also reported that Mr. Placido Camargo Ruiz's disappearance was the work of a paramilitary group, or federal police detectives, in reprisal for his activities during the May-June 2000 teachers' strike.

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259. On 19 June 2000, a large number of criminal investigations officers and local police of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas and Reynosa reportedly entered violently the offices of the Duro Bags Manufacturing Company at Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. According to the information received, employees had given notice of a strike intended to improve their working conditions, obtain the respect of their individual and collective rights, including their freedom of association, and gain recognition of the trade union management, which had been refused by the employers. A few workers were detained and afterwards freed against the payment of a global bail of US$ 2,000. The Special Representative was also informed of the presumed enforced disappearance of

Mr. Eliud Amaguer, the leader of the Duro Bags Manufacturing employees, when on his way between Rio Bravo, State of Tamaulipas, and Monterrey, State of Nuevo Leon.

260. Mr. Gerardo Cabrera Gonzalez, a member of the Organization de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petetlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESP), which is campaigning to stop forest exploitation, was reportedly detained on 14 July 2001 by members of the XIX infantry battalion. It was further reported that he was transferred to the civil prison of Acapulco and accused of illegal arms possession.

261. According to the information received, on 3 August 2001 Ms. Angelica Ayala Ortiz, coordinator at the Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (LIMEDDH) at Oaxaca, noted that unknown persons had reportedly entered her house illegally and gone through her archives and materials containing information about the work of the organization. It was reported that these events took place a few days before the LIMEDDH was due to present its annual report on the state of health of native Zapotec prisoners from the region of Loxichas in the Ixcotel and Elta penitential centres.

262. Mr. Andres Rubio Salvidar, an historian, and Mr. Rey Miguel Hernandez, a journalist, both coordinators and members of the Coordinating Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Costa Chica, State of Guerrerro, reportedly received a threatening message in early September 2000 from the local commander of the Guerrerro Criminal Investigation Department. These threats are reportedly linked to investigations carried out by the Committee, and the publication of an article by Mr. Rey Miguel Hernandez based on denunciations received in December 1999 from indigenous Mixteca from the community of La Concordia, municipality of Ayutla de los Libres, State of Guerrero.

263. Dr. Adrian Ramirez Lopez, president of LIMEDDH and vice-president of FIDH, and Sara Rico Ramirez, head of the Victim Legal Support System, were reportedly summoned

on 21 September 2000 and on 24 October 2000 by the General Military Justice Tribunal to

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appear on 6 October 2000 for ministerial inquiries. These summonses were reportedly linked to their declarations as witnesses with regard to two urgent actions filed by LIMEDDH in response to appeals by the Centro de Derechos Humanos "Fray Bartolome de las Casas".

264. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint communication with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression requesting information regarding Margil Guerra and Ciro Rodriguez, two journalists with the Mexican Television Televisa, and Mauro Cruz, a member of the Centro de Estudios Fronterizos y Promotion de los Derechos Humanos (CEFPROHAC), who were reportedly harassed on 31 March 2001 by soldiers in anti­ drug raids on two communities in Tamaulipas State. It was reported that Margil Guerra, Ciro Rodriguez and Mauro Cruz had attempted to observe the raids in Tamaulipas State. Twenty persons, including one minor, were reportedly detained after some 300 soldiers entered the village of Guardado de Abajo, in Camargo municipality, and the district of Fonhapo, in Miguel Aleman municipality without showing search warrants.

265. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint communication with the Special Rapporteur on torture on the following cases. On 2 May 1999, Rodolfo Monti el Flores and Teodoro Cabrera Garcia, environmental activists in Pizotla, Guerrero, members of the Organizacion de Campesinos Ecologistas de la Sierra de Petatlan y Coyuca de Catalan (OCESP), were reportedly held in incommunicado detention, and tortured physically and psychologically by members of the army after participating in a peaceful demonstration protesting against operations threatening forests in the State of Guerrero. The XXI Circuit Court sentenced

Mr. Teodoro Cabrera Garcia to 10 years' imprisonment and Mr. Rodolfo Monti el Flores to 6 years and 8 months for offences relating to drugs and arms. Soldiers reportedly forced the two activists to sign confessions accepted by the courts.

266. In October 2000, Mr. Hector Perez Cordova was reportedly detained in Topo Chico prison in Nuevo Leon State and ill-treated after participating in a peaceful demonstration organized by human rights defenders in front of the prison, in the framework of Amnesty International's world campaign against torture. It was reported that Mr. Hector Perez Cordova was held responsible for this event. While in detention, he was reportedly naked, put in a cell for seven days and deprived of food and medicine.

267. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint communication with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions requesting information regarding the murder on 1 March 2001 by unidentified men of Mr. Francisco de la Cruz Mesino, representative of the Organizacion Campesina de la Sierra del Sur (OCSS) in Agua community in Sierra de Atoyac. According to the information received, although Mr. de la Cruz Mesino's

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home was situated in front of the headquarters of the Policia Motorizada, no police officer was there until half an hour after. It was reported that the reason for the murder was that Mr. de la Cruz Mesino was the representative of his community before the OSCC.