Documento - EL SALVADOR. Temor por la seguridad

PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 29/003/2006

UA 188/06 Fear for Safety 06 July 2006

EL SALVADOR Marina Manzanares Monjarás (f), political activist

Killed: Francisco Antonio Manzanares (m) aged 77 ] her parents

Juana Monjarás de Manzanares (f) 75 ]

A
mnesty International is concerned for the safety of Marina Manzanares Monjarás, whose parents were brutally murdered on 2 July. She is a long-standing political activist with the main opposition partyFarabundo Martí National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN). She was also a radio broadcaster and worked with the underground Radio Venceremos during the armed conflict in El Salvador which began in 1980 and ended in 1992. She has recently been working on a project to preserve the memory of that period.

Prior to her murder, Juana Monjarás de Manzanares had been sent a box containing bones and a note saying that she would receive her daughter’s bones in the same way. In early 2006, Marina Manzanares Monjarás was the target of phone threats. In late January, in the early hours of the morning a male caller threatened her saying: “Bitch, communist, your head will roll soon” "Hija de la gran puta, comunista, pronto rodará tu cabeza". Two weeks later her mother received a call in which a man warned her: “You should buy black clothes, as you’ll be mourning the death of your daughter”, "debería comprarse ropa negra por el luto que tendrá que guardar por la muerte de su hija".

Francisco Antonio Manzanares and Juana Monjarás de Manzanares were found at their home in barrio La Cruz, Suchitoto, Department of Cuscatlán, on the morning of 2 July 2006. Their murder is reported to have been particularly brutal with signs of extreme violence: their throats were cut, lime spread on their faces and there are indications of an attempt to set the bodies and the scene of the crime on fire. According to reports no valuables were taken from the house thus making theft an unlikely motive. Their son Francisco Manzanares who was also a political activist was killed on 8 October 1996, in what Amnesty International considered to be an extrajudicial execution. His parents had also received threats beforehand.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

There has been increasing concern among civil society organizations about the possible re-emergence of the so called ‘death squads’ which spread terror during the armed conflict. Beatrice de Carrillo, the Human Rights Procurator, Procuradora para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (PDDH), has expressed concern at the high level of murders in the last few years and any possible link to such groups, who might be attempting to ‘intimidate’ the society.

Impunity for human rights violations committed during the armed conflict persists despite concerns from various international institutions like UN and OAS bodies and national civil society organizations.

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

-expressing concern about the safety of Marina Manzanares Monjarás in view of threats and the murder of her parents;

-calling on the authorities to take immediate steps to guarantee her safety;

-urging an immediate, full and impartial investigation into the murder of Francisco Antonio Manzanares and Juana Monjarás de Manzanares and for the results of the investigation to be made public;

-ensuring that any possible witnesses receive appropriate protection so that they can testify free of fear so that those responsible can be brought to trial.

APPEALS TO:

President

S.E Elías Antonio Saca

Presidente de la República de El Salvador

Casa Presidencial

Alameda.Dr Manuel Enrique Araujo 5500

San Salvador, El Salvador

E-mail: casapres@casapres.gob.sv

Fax: +503 2243 7857/ 9930

Salutation: Sr Presidente/ Dear President

Attorney General

Lic. Félix Garrid Safie

Fiscal General

Fiscalía General de la República

Colonia Flor Blanca

49 Avenida Sur

Edificio 8-B

San Salvador, El Salvador

Fax: +503 2249 8613

Salutation: Sr. Fiscal General/ Dear Attorney General

COPIES TO:

Human Rights Procurator’s Office

Dra. Beatrice Alamanni de Carrillo

Procuraduría para la Defensa

de los Derechos Humanos

90 Av. Norte y 51 Calle Poniente

Edificio AMSA N1 535

San Salvador, El Salvador

Fax: + 503 2222 0655

and to diplomatic representatives of El Salvador accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 17 August 2006.