Mexico:Attempt to kill wife and brother of assassinated indigenous human rights defender Manuel Ponce Rosa
Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the attempted assassination of human rights defenders Ms Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Mr Santiago Ponce Lola on 24 June 2009 while they were driving from Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero, to the community of la Cortina.
Further Information
Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Mr Santiago Ponce Lola are both members of the organisation el Futuro del Pueblo Mixteco (OFPM), an organisation which is derived from the Organización Independiente de Pueblos Mixtecos y Tlapanecos – OIPMT (Independent Organisation of Mixteco and Tlapaneco Peoples).
The OFPM is based in the municipal capital of Ayutla de los Libres and defends the rights of the indigenous peoples of the region. Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Mr Santiago Ponce Lola are also the wife and brother, respectively, of the human rights defender Manuel Ponce Rosa who was recently extrajudicially killed. Front Line issued an appeal on 24 February 2009, in relation to the extrajudicial killings of Manuel Ponce Rosa and Raúl Lucas Lucía, calling for the protection of the families of the deceased human rights defenders.
On 24 June 2009, at approximately 4.30pm, Margarita Martín de las Nieves, accompanied by Santiago Ponce Lola and his sister-in-law Modesta Laureano Petra, left the offices of Tlachinollan de Ayutla, in the city of Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero, to return to her home in the community of la Cortina.
At approximately 5.30pm, as they were driving through the Ocotlán junction in the community of la Fátima, Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Santiago Ponce Lola noticed a man dressed in a black t-shirt, black hat and with a black bandanna covering his face, holding a gun and crouching on a hill at the side of the road, about three metres away from them.
The man aimed what appeared to be a 12 or 16 gauge calibre shotgun at them and pulled the trigger. When the aforementioned human rights defenders realised what was happening, Santiago Ponce Lola, who was driving, accelerated as the assailant fired two more shots at them.
When the assailant realised that he had missed, he ran after them in order to shoot from a closer range but his assassination attempt failed and the human rights defenders escaped unharmed. Margarita Martín de las Nieves was unable to use the satellite phone, given to her by the State of Mexico, to report the incident immediately as it is currently not working.
On 9 April 2009, 107 human rights defenders in Guerrero were granted provisional protection measures by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights due to the general climate of danger and risk for human rights defenders in Guerrero at this time. However, the government has thus far failed to implement these measures or provide the necessary security equipment for the protection of the 107 human rights defenders.
On 22 June 2009, members of the human rights centre Tlachinollan met with civil servants from the Ministry for Public Security, the Ministry of Governance, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Federal Ministry for Public Security, in Chilpancingo, Guerrero, to appeal once again for the implementation of these measures and, in particular, for special measures to be put in place for the protection of Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Guadalupe Castro Morales, the widows of Manuel Ponce Rosas and Raúl Lucas Lucía.
In this meeting it was agreed that, from the 24 June 2009 onwards, police would carry out security checks at the homes of the two widows twice daily, and that they would be escorted by police when travelling to and from their homes.
On 24 June 2009, at 11.30am, Urbano Palacio García, chief of the police of the first sector of the Costa Chica region State Preventative Police, arrived at the offices of Tlachinollan de Ayutla to discuss the implementation of the security measures previously decided upon.
At the request of Abel Barrera, director of Tlachinollan, Urbano Palacio García agreed that Margarita Martín de las Nieves would be escorted back to her home in la Cortina when she finished her meetings planned for that day in order to guarantee her safety and to identify the location of her home so that security checks at her home could begin.
Urbano Palacio García asked Margarita Martín de las Nieves to call him on his mobile phone when she was ready to return home that day in order for them to provide the necessary police protection. When Urbano Palacio García did not return to the offices of Tlachinollan that evening, as had been previously agreed, and since she could not contact him, Margarita Martín de las Nieves had to return home without police protection and without the previously agreed upon security check at her home.
Front Line believes that the attempted assassination of Margarita Martín de las Nieves and Santiago Ponce Lola is directly related to their legitimate and peaceful work in defence of the rights of indigenous groups in Guerrero. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Margarita Martín de las Nieves, Santiago Ponce Lola and the other members of OFPM. Furthermore, Front Line believes that this attack forms part of an ongoing pattern of harassment against human rights defenders in Guerrero.
Original Appeal on behalf of Manuel Ponce Rosa
This Urgent Appeal has now ended. No further action is requested at this point. Thank you for taking action on this case.
Front Line issues Urgent Appeals on behalf of human rights defenders at risk on a daily basis. These Appeals normally remain active on our web site for a period of up to six weeks, depending on the situation. After this time they will be archived. Front Line maintains a watching brief on all these cases but no further action is requested after the six weeks, unless there is a significant development in the case.
