There is grave concern for the safety of members of the Nahua and Otomi Indian peasant community of Plan del Encinal, Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz, following the arbitrary arrest, torture and extrajudicial execution of two of their leaders. The mutilated bodies of Rolando and Atanacio Hernandez Hernandez were found on 17 September 1994. Both men were members of an Indian peasants’ rights movement, the Organizacion de Pueblos Etnicos Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon (OPEMORELOS). They had been abducted by members of the state police following a raid on their community on 8 September 1994.
