PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 41/010/2009

25 February 2009

Further Information on UA 41/09 (AMR 41/007/2009, 16 February 2009) Fear for safety

MEXICO Manuel Ponce Rosas (m)

Raúl Lucas Lucía (m)

Guadalupe Castro Morales, other relatives and other members of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples

Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía were found dead late at night on 20 February in Tecoanapa municipality, Guerrero State. Their families,members of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples (Organizacion para el Futuro de los Pueblos Mixtecos, OFPM) and other human rights activists supporting the families may be at risk of reprisals.

The bodies of the two men were unearthed in Las Cazuelas, thirty minutes drive away from where they were abducted by armed men on 13 February. Both of the bodies have been identified by their families who report that the bodies show clear signs of torture. Raúl Lucas was found with a bullet in his head and severe bruises and blows to his nose, cheeks and mouth and severe burns on his neck and chest area. Manuel Ponce’s body showed signs of severe bruises on his face and head, his teeth were shattered. Both bodies were discovered buried in plastic bags.

Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas’ families have received a series of threats since the two men’s abduction. On 13 February, Guadalupe Castro Morales, Raúl Lucas’ wife, received a phone call saying “Don't make trouble, stay quiet” (“No empieces a chingar, quedate calladita”). On 18 February Raúl Lucas’ sister received a phone call telling her to tell Guadalupe Castro to stop making such a fuss or they would kidnap her daughter (“dile a Guadalupe que deje de estar haciendo tanta mamada porque si sigue así vamos a levantar a su hija”).

Amnesty International believes that the relatives of the two deceased men and local human rights organizations supporting them may be at risk of reprisals and further threats. This is due to their belief that the two men may have been abducted by police, and murdered as a consequence of their work as human rights defenders.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Over the years, Amnesty International has documented a pattern of harassment and intimidation against members of Indigenous rights organizations in Guerrero state such as the Me’ phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (Organización del Pueblo Indígena Me’ phaa, OPIM) and the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples (Organizacion para el Futuro de los Pueblos Mixtecos, OFPM). OPIM members have been attacked and threatened on numerous occasions. Currently, five members of OPIM are in detention and Amnesty International has adopted all of them as prisoners of conscience and believes that the charges against them are politically motivated on account of their efforts to campaign for improvements in the economic, social and cultural rights of their communities.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own language:

- calling on the authorities to take steps to ensure the safety of witnesses to the abduction, Guadalupe Castro Morales, other relatives of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía and other members of the Organization for the Future of Mixtec Indigenous Peoples s as well as human rights organizations supporting the families;

- calling on the authorities to initiate an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía and to ensure all the evidence is collected and properly preserved in accordance with international standards;

- calling on the CEDH to monitor the investigation

- calling for a full and thorough inquiry on why police and prosecutors refused to initiate an immediate investigation into the men’s abduction and apparent enforced disappearance despite the complaint filed by witnesses.

APPEALS TO:

Governor of Guerrero

Lic. Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo

Gobernador del Estado de Guerrero

Palacio de Gobierno, Edificio Centro, piso 2, Ciudad de los Servicios, CP 39075, Chilpancingo, Guerrero, MEXICO

Email: gobernador@guerrero.gob.mx

Fax: +52 747 471 9956

Salutation: Señor Gobernador/Dear Governor

Attorney General of the Republic

Lic. Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza

Procuraduría General de la República,

Av. Paseo de la Reforma Nº 211-213, Piso 16

Col. Cuauhtémoc, Del. Cuauhtémoc, México D.F., C.P. 06500, MÉXICO

Fax: +52 55 5346 0908 (if they answer say: “me da tono de fax, por favor”)

Salutation: Dear Attorney General/Señor Procurador

Attorney General of Guerrero

Lic. Eduardo Murueta Urrutia

Procurador del Estado de Guerrero

Carretera Nacional México-Acapulco Km. 6+300, Tramo Chilpancingo-Petaquillos

Chilpancingo 39090, Guerrero, MÉXICO

Fax: +52 747 472 2328

Email: cprocurador@pgjgro.gob.mx

Salutation: Dear Attorney / Señor Procurador

COPIES TO:

Human rights organization

Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña “Tlachinollan” AC., Calle Mina, no. 77, Col. Centro, Tlapa de Comonfort, C.P. 41304, Guerrero, MEXICO

Human Rights Commission of Guerrero

Lic. Juan Alarcón Hernández

Presidente de la Comisión de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos del Estado de Guerrero (Coddehum)

Avda. Juárez, Esq. Galo Soberón y Parra, Col. Centro, 39000, Chilpancingo, Guerrero, MEXICO

Email: coddehum@prodigy.net.mx

Salutation: Dear President/ Señor Presidente

and to diplomatic representatives of Mexico accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 8 April 2009.