Brazil/Colombia/Guatemala/Honduras/ Mexico/The Philippines: Stop the Killings

June 21, 2018

“Stop the Killings” analyzes the root causes of the killing of HRDs in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines.

The report is based on original research by Comitê Brasileiro de Defensoras e Defensores de Direitos Humanos – CBDDH, (Brazil), Programa Somos Defensores (Colombia), UDEFEGUA (Guatemala), ACI-Participa (Honduras), Comité Cerezo (Mexico) and iDEFEND, Karapatan and Pahra (Philippines).

With a forward from United Natiosn Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Michel Forst and introduction by Front Line Defenders Exective Director Andrew Anderson, “Stop the Killings” is a vital resource for understanding the current and alarming increase of killings of human rights defenders globally.

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https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/statement-report/stop-killings

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/violation/killing

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/front-line-defenders-new-report-says-majority-of-human-rights-defenders-killings-in-2017-were-related-to-mega-projects-in-extractive-industry

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/spike-in-murder-rate-of-human-rights-defenders-472131.html

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International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute ANNUAL REVIEW 2017

The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has launched its 2017 Annual Review, providing an overview of the IBAHRI’s major activities over the year.

2017 was a difficult year for human rights: since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted 70 years ago, it appears that we are now reaching a point where the universal acceptance of human rights is being eroded. Increasingly polarised political spheres and growing support for populist governments are resulting in policies that scapegoat minorities, attack the under-represented and persecute those who oppose these governments.

In this atmosphere, protection of human rights, the rule of law and an independent legal profession are more important than ever. This makes the work of the IBAHRI more important than ever. Since its establishment in 1995, the IBAHRI has endeavoured to defend fundamental human rights through the promotion and protection of the independence of the legal profession, and by providing members of the global legal community with the tools needed to do the same.

 

As part of its ongoing projects in the Americas, the IBAHRI provided torture-prevention training to legal professionals, including judges and public defenders, across Brazil and Mexico. In El Salvador, the IBAHRI brought a high-level delegation of experts on the rights to justice, truth and historical memory to meet with legal professionals, the executive, armed forces, CSOs and academia with a view to achieving justice effectively and realising the rights of those who suffered human rights abuses as a result of the 12-year civil war. Additionally, the IBAHRI continued to monitor the emblematic trial of Venezuelan Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, and sent open letters to President Donald Trump of the United States, which criticised the President and his administration for actions the IBAHRI felt were ‘diametrically opposed to the defence of human rights’.

In Asia Pacific, the IBAHRI worked with the newly established Independent Lawyers’ Association of Myanmar to continue its work in the country, and has been running a trial observation programme to ensure those responsible for the death of prominent lawyer U Ko Ni are brought to justice. In Timor-Leste, the IBAHRI has consolidated its presence in the country by seeking to strengthen the legal profession and supporting the creation of its first national bar association.

The IBAHRI launched a mentorship programme for junior Azerbaijani lawyers that linked them with more experienced senior lawyers, and held a Law Student Conference in Baku, among other activities intended to advocate for the rights of legal professionals in the country. We also facilitated attendance at various OSCE Meetings for lawyers in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan as part of the IBAHRI’s ongoing work in Europe and Central Asia.

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https://www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/Human-Rights-Institute-Annual-Review-2017.aspx

https://www.protect-lawyers.com/fr/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/07/23/joint-letter-eu-regarding-human-rights-situation-tajikistan

In Tajikistan, reforms undertaken by the Qualifications Committee set up by the Ministry of Justice drastically decreased the number of practising lawyers.

Read more about the situation of Tajik lawyers and the work the IBAHRI has done in partnership with the Tajikistan Barristers’ Union here:https://tinyurl.com/y7rhftx4

(International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute Facebook, 9/5/18)

Mexico: Liberan a abogado Salinas

27/01/18

El abogado de Mexicali Resiste, Armando Salinas Bravo, fue liberado a las 23:00 horas del 26 de enero por un Juez de Distrito, quien había sido aprehendido la mañana de ese mismo día por incumplir con una medida cautelar.

Desmintió que haya una notificación de la medida cautelar y de protección, asegurando que el subprocurador de la Procuraduría General de Justicias del Estado (PGJE), Fernando Ramírez Amador, no habló con la verdad al señalar que hubo un desacato de la supuesta orden.

“Pido que cese el hostigamiento a los abogados, y principalmente a los abogados del agua, si se van a realizar denuncias que sea en el marco de la legalidad, que se abstengan de estar afuera de mi domicilio hostigando a mi familia”, declaró.

Declaró que si hay un requerimiento acudirá con la frente en alto, además de que acudirá a la Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos (CEDH), por violar sus derechos durante su detención.

El abogado aseguró que al momento de su arresto no le dijeron bajo que cargo, desconociendo si existe una carpeta de investigación, si es imputado o dicha medida de protección.

http://www.lacronica.com/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Noticias/27012018/1304049-Liberan-a-abogado-Salinas.html

https://www.lavozdelafrontera.com.mx/mexicali/fue-arresto-ilegal-sostiene-abogado

http://jornadabc.mx/tijuana/26-01-2018/detencion-de-armando-salinas-por-violar-orden-de-alejamiento-de-cervecera-pgje

http://www.lacronica.com/Movil/EdicionEnLinea/Policiaca/Notas/1303749.html

Venezuela/Mexico: Former Venezuelan prosecutor meets Mexican attorney general

September 1, 2017

Venezuela’s former chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega met Mexico’s attorney general on Thursday, a Mexican official said, weeks after she fled her homeland accusing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of involvement in corruption.

Ortega, who was removed from her position earlier this month, said a week ago she had evidence that Maduro was involved in graft with construction company Odebrecht.

The 59-year-old Ortega has said she would give details of the corruption cases to authorities in the United States, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.

Mexican attorney general Raul Cervantes met Ortega for around 10 minutes in Mexico City, an official at the attorney general’s office said. He gave no further details of the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Late on Thursday, Ortega posted a picture on Twitter of herself with Cervantes in Mexico, saying the two had met to “coordinate actions in the fight against corruption.”

Pictures posted on social media earlier on Thursday showed Ortega arriving at Mexico City airport.

Ortega says she has been persecuted by opponents in an effort to hide details of high-level corruption and that she has proof of it.

She was a key player in Venezuela’s government before breaking with it in March. Ortega left Venezuela for Colombia and traveled to Brazil to meet prosecutors last week.

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https://ca.news.yahoo.com/former-venezuelan-prosecutor-meets-mexican-attorney-general-031351040–sector.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuelan-president-maduro-address-u-n-human-rights-134715018.html

https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2017/09/04/international-effort-to-declare-venezuelan-regime-a-criminal-organization/

http://www.europe1.fr/international/venezuela-lex-procureure-en-fuite-remet-des-documents-au-mexique-3425237 (FRANCAIS)

http://www.lafm.com.co/internacional/exfiscal-luisa-ortega-dice-ya-entrego-informacion-importante-corrupcion-venezuela/ (ESPANOL)

Mexico/USA: Lawyer opposing U.S. resort developer in Baja Mexico jailed 62 days

July 20, 2017

Lawyer John Moreno Rutowski’s incarceration 62 days ago spurred outcry against Black Creek Group, an American development company that plans to convert beaches, mangroves, and dunes in a tranquil fishing town near the popular destination Todos Santos on the Mexican Pacific into two hotels and 4,000+ housing units based upon the concept of ‘wellbeing.’

Every morning at dawn, the fishermen of Punta Lobos take their boats out to the high seas to find shrimp boats and give bread, cookies, and soft drinks to the crew members in exchange for shrimp heads to use as bait.

They do this out of necessity. Deep down, they surely would prefer not to have to depend on this. The boats usually arrive at the beaches of Todos Santos, in Baja California Sur, from the neighboring state of Sinaloa. The fishermen practice trawling — taking in tons of shrimp and young sole, a species that artisanal fishermen work with and protect.

The shrimp heads are for the fishermen, and the small sole go back into the sea dead. For decades, the members of the Punta Lobos Fishing Cooperative have seen tons of dead fish thrown overboard and have spoken out about it with anger as they take their afternoon breaks.

But nowadays, this is the least of their problems: in 2013, the Mexican government approved the construction of a hotel on Punta Lobos Beach and the lawyer who defended the members of the cooperative, John Moreno Rutowski, has been incarcerated in the height of a full legal battle against the company developing the project.

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https://news.mongabay.com/2017/07/lawyer-opposing-u-s-resort-developer-in-baja-mexico-jailed-62-days/

http://thefulano.space/forum/showthread.php?tid=25248

https://justiceforjoella.wordpress.com/about/

https://freejohnmoreno.com/

Mexico: UN experts call for an independent and impartial investigation into the use of spyware against rights defenders and journalists

July 19, 2017

A group of United Nations experts* today called on the Government of Mexico to carry out a transparent, independent and impartial investigation into allegations of monitoring and illegal surveillance against human rights defenders, social activists, and journalists.

The experts’ call comes a month after civil society organizations and the international media revealed allegations that the Mexican authorities deployed a spyware called ‘Pegasus’ to hack and monitor the mobile phones of people involved in the investigation and denunciation of cases of corruption and serious violations of human rights during 2015 and 2016.

“The allegations of surveillance, which represent a serious violation of the rights to privacy, freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of association, are highly concerning and are evidence of the hostile and threatening environment that human rights defenders, social activists and journalists face in Mexico today,” the experts said.

The surveillance has reportedly targeted human rights defenders from the NGO Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez (Centro Prodh), as well as members of other civil society organizations such as Mexicanos Contra la Corrupción y la Impunidad and Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad.

The Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and some members of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI), appointed to take part in the investigation into the disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa, are also said to have been affected.

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http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21892&LangID=E

Mexico: Mexico ‘spied on journalists, lawyers and activists’

June 20, 2017

Several prominent journalists and activists in Mexico have filed a complaint accusing the government of spying on them by hacking their phones.

The accusation follows a report in the New York Times that says they were targeted with spyware meant to be used against criminals and terrorists.

The newspaper says messages examined by forensic analysts show the software was used against government critics.

A Mexican government spokesman “categorically” denied the allegations.

The report says that the software, known as Pegasus, was sold to Mexican federal agencies by Israeli company NSO Group on the condition that it only be used to investigate criminals and terrorists.

The software can infiltrate smartphones and monitor calls, texts and other communications, the New York Times said. It can also activate a phone’s microphone or camera, effectively turning the device into a personal bug.

But instead of being used to track suspected criminals, the targets allegedly included investigative journalists, anti-corruption activists and even lawyers.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40337770#

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-spyware-idUSKBN19A30Y

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/19/mexico-cellphone-software-spying-journalists-activists

http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/88-spyware-attempts-on-journalists-lawyers/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-40376891

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/mbjyqx/mexico-hacking-and-spying-on-its-citizens-is-a-human-rights-crisis

https://www.democracynow.org/2017/7/12/mexico_spied_on_human_rights_investigators

http://www.omct.org/es/human-rights-defenders/urgent-interventions/mexico/2017/07/d24424/ (ESPANOL)

https://rsf.org/fr/actualites/mexique-des-journalistes-espionnes-le-mouchard-pegasus (FRANCAIS)

http://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Ameriques/Mexico-accuse-davoir-espionne-journalistes-militants-droits-lhomme-2017-06-22-1200857192 (FRANCAIS)

http://internacional.estadao.com.br/noticias/geral,mexico-vigia-criticos-do-governo-com-software-que-hackeia-celulares,70001849650 (PORTUGUES)