Death threats against Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz - December 2009
On 14 December 2009, human rights defender Mr Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz received a death threat at his home in Comitán de Comínguez, Chiapas. The threat came two days before he was due to testify at a hearing in order to identify a police officer who took part in a raid of his home.
Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz is a member of the organisation Enlace, Comunicación y Capacitación – Enlace CC (“Connect, Communication and Training”). Enlace CC is a civil organisation based in Chiapas which works for sustainable development for indigenous people and rural workers in central and southern Mexico, incorporating human rights and gender equality as its guiding principles.
Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez, the wife of human rights defender Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz, was violently attacked and received death threats on 26 February 2010, less than 35 hours before the reconstruction of events in relation to a raid on their home in Comitán de Domínguez, Chiapas, in November 2009.
Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz is a member of the organisation Enlace, Comunicación y Capacitación – Enlace CC (“Connect, Communication and Training”). Enlace CC is a civil organisation based in Chiapas which works for sustainable development for indigenous people and rural workers in central and southern Mexico, incorporating human rights and gender equality as its guiding principles. Front Line previously issued an appeal in relation to death threats against Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz and his family on 23 December 2009.
On 26 February 2010, at approximately 1.30pm, two unidentified men abducted Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez while she was on her way to collect her youngest son from his school in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas. The men put a plastic bag over Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez's head and forced her into a vehicle. She was hit several times in the face with a solid object. The men then pushed an unknown object into her ribs, that could possibly have been a gun, and warned her that she would be killed if she didn't drop the case against the police officers involved in the raid on her home in November 2009. The men also ran a cold object over her hands and threatened that they could fix it so that she would no longer be able to work. They also told her that this beating was a little present from the municipal president of Comitán. She was later released in a street close to her home. Due to the ongoing insecurity and threats against them, the family have been forced to relocate for a second time since December 2009.
This incident took place less than 35 hours before the reconstruction of the November 2009 raid on the home of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz and Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez in the city of Comitán de Domínguez. The reconstruction of events, which is part of an ongoing investigation into the incident, was set to take place on 27 February 2010 at approximately 3.30am at the house that was raided in 2009.
The raid on the home of the human rights defender took place on 8 November 2009, at about 3.30am. According to reports, 20 police officers entered the house using disproportionate force, threatening Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez and demanding that she show them each of the rooms in the house. At the same time, Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz was interrogated about his activities with Enlace CC. The police took photos and a video of the house and family.
According to official information, the police operation was ordered on the basis of arrest warrants for four persons, all leaders of different organisations “that dedicated themselves to blocking stretches of road, streets and avenues, in addition to demonstrating on government property”. The execution of the four warrants was carried out using 19 officers of the State Preventative Police (PEP), 10 officers from the Ministerial Police, 20 from the Municipal Police of Comitán, and four agents from the Public Ministry.
On 10 November, Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez saw one of the presumed perpetrators of the raid in a corridor of the Office of the Prosecutor for the Fronterizo Sierra District. Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz filed a complaint with Lic. Pedro Raúl López Hernández, the Special Prosecutor for the Protection of NGOs and Human Rights Defenders, who works under the auspice of the General Prosecutor of Chiapas.
The complaint led to the initiation of an inquiry into the raid, ill-treatment and abuse of authority, which later included death threats sent to the family. On 25 November, the couple found a note which read, “Soy su vecino. Anoche estuvieron cinco hombres vigilando la casa, tengan cuidado por favor cuiden a sus hijos” (“I am your neighbour. Last night five men were watching your house, take care please mind your children”).
Front Line believes that the attack on Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez and the threats against her are directly related to the ongoing investigation into the raid on her home in 2009, which in turn was related to her husband Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz's work in the defence of human rights, in particular those of indigenous peoples and rural workers. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity and security of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz, Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez and their family.
On 14 December 2009, human rights defender Mr Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz received a death threat at his home in Comitán de Comínguez, Chiapas. The threat came two days before he was due to testify at a hearing in order to identify a police officer who took part in a raid of his home. Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz is a member of the organisation “Connect, Communication and Training” (Enlace, Comunicación y Capacitación – Enlace CC). Enlace CC is a civil organisation with bases in Chiapas which works for sustainable development for indigenous people and rural workers in central and southern Mexico, incorporating human rights and gender equality as its guiding principles.
On 14 December at about 7.15pm, an anonymous note was left under the door of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz's house in Comitán de Domínguez, which stated “Don't continue, you will die” (“No sigan se van a morir”). The note was found by Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz's daughter, who immediately took the note to her mother, Mrs Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez. The threat came two days before a hearing for witnesses before the Public Ministry in which both Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz and Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez were due to testify in order to identify one of the policemen who took part in a raid on their home in November 2009. As a result of the threat, neither of them attended the hearing.
On 8 November at about 3.30am, Adolgo Guzmán Ordaz's house was raided by the police while Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez and their two young children were present. According to reports, 20 police officers entered the house using disproportionate force, threatening and pointing at Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez to force her to show them each of the rooms in the house. At the same time, Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz was interrogated about his activities with Enlace CC. The police took photos and a video of the house and family.
According to official information, the police operation was ordered on the basis of arrest warrants for four persons, all leaders of different organisations “that dedicated themselves to blocking stretches of road, streets and avenues, in addition to demonstrating on government property”. (““que se dedican a bloquear tramos carreteros, calles y avenidas, así como manifestarse en los inmuebles del Gobierno”). The execution of the four warrants was carried out using 19 officers of the State Preventative Police (PEP), 10 officers from the Ministerial police, 20 from the Municipal Police of Comitán, and four agents from the Public Ministry.
On 10 November, Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez saw one of the presumed perpetrators of the raid in a corridor of the Office of the Prosecutor for the Fronterizo Sierra District. Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz filed a complaint with Lic. Pedro Raúl López Hernández, the Special Prosecutor for the Protection of NGOs and Human Rights Defenders, who works under the auspice of the General Prosecutor of Chiapas. The complaint led to the initiation of an inquiry into the raid, torture and abuse of authority, which later included the death threat of 14 December. On 25 November, the couple found a note which said, “I am your neighbour. Last night five men were watching your house, take care please mind your children” (“Soy su vecino. Anoche estuvieron cinco hombres vigilando la casa, tengan cuidado por favor cuiden a sus hijos”). Since then the family has temporarily found another place to live.
Front Line believes that the threats against Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz, Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez and their family, along with the raid of their home, are directly related to his work in the defence of human rights, in particular those of indigenous peoples and rural workers. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity and security of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz, Margarita Guadalupe Martínez Martínez and their family.
Front Line urges the Mexican authorities to:
1.Carry out an immediate, impartial and thorough investigation into the threats that the family of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz has received and the raid of their home in order to fully implement the inquiry begun by Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz with the Special Prosecutor for the Protection of NGOs and Human Rights Defenders, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
2.Take all necessary measures to effectively and adequately ensure the physical and psychological integrity and security of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz and his children;
3.Guarantee that all human rights defenders in Mexico, carrying out their legitimate work in the defence of human rights, are able to operate free of restrictions and reprisals.
