Fredy García, spokesperson of CODEDI, detained
On 12 November 2019, the indictment hearing against spokesman for CODEDI, Fredy García, took place in the court of Valles Centrales, in Oaxaca. The human rights defender was formally charged with the crimes of “assault”, “injury”, and “aggravated robbery”. He will remain in pre-trial detention until March 2020, when his next hearing is scheduled.
On 6 November 2019, human rights defender and spokesperson of CODEDI, Fredy García, was detained by state investigation agents as he made his way to a meeting with public officials in Oaxaca.
The Committee for the Defence of Indigenous Peoples (Comité de Defensa de los Pueblos Indígenas (CODEDI) is an organisation that has a long-term commitment to the promotion of indigenous communities’ rights to land, autonomy and self-determination. It focuses on defending communities from human rights violations committed in the context of hydroelectric and mining projects in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. CODEDI has worked for more than twenty years on the promotion and protection of human rights in fifty indigenous communities in various regions in the state of Oaxaca.
On 12 November 2019, the indictment hearing against spokesman for CODEDI, Fredy García, took place in the court of Valles Centrales, in Oaxaca. The human rights defender was formally charged with the crimes of “assault”, “injury”, and “aggravated robbery”. He will remain in pre-trial detention until March 2020, when his next hearing is scheduled.
The hearing took place after Fredy García was arbitrarily detained on 6 November 2019, while driving to a meeting to which he was invited by public officials in the state of Oaxaca. The police claimed the arrest was in relation to events that occurred a few weeks previous in the south of the state, where a state investigation agent was shot dead. After he was arrested, Fredy García spent eight hours in incommunicado detention and remained in arbitrary detention until 12 November 2019, when he was formally prosecuted.
Front Line Defenders is concerned that this is not an isolated incident against members of CODEDI, but part of a broad strategy of intimidation and violence against the organisation. Since January 2018, there have been five murders, two assassination attempts, six arbitrary detentions, three break-ins and robberies, as well as constant threats and militarisation of the area where Fredy García’s training centre is located. Front Line Defenders is concerned by the chilling effect that Fredy García's pretrial detention may have on the defence of human rights in Oaxaca. Furthermore, it calls on the authorities in Oaxaca to drop the charges against Fredy García and immediately release him from detention, while guaranteeing his security and physical and psychological integrity.
On 6 November 2019, human rights defender and spokesperson of CODEDI, Fredy García, was detained by state investigation agents as he made his way to a meeting with public officials in Oaxaca.
The Committee for the Defence of Indigenous Peoples (Comité de Defensa de los Pueblos Indígenas (CODEDI) is an organisation that has a long-term commitment to the promotion of indigenous communities’ rights to land, autonomy and self-determination. It focuses on defending communities from human rights violations committed in the context of hydroelectric and mining projects in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. CODEDI has worked for more than twenty years on the promotion and protection of human rights in fifty indigenous communities in various regions in the state of Oaxaca.
On Wednesday 6 November 2019 at 18:00, Fredy García and Celerino Guisael Martínez Castro, both members of CODEDI, were driving to a meeting to which they were invited by government officials, when they were arbitrarily detained by state investigation agents. Police claimed the arrest was in relation to events that occurred a few weeks ago in the south of Oaxaca where a state investigation agent was shot dead. Celerino Guisael Martínez Castro was released in the early hours of 7 November 2019 after spending more than eight hours in an undisclosed location. Fredy García spent eight hours in incommunicado detention, and is being charged with "premeditated injury," and "aggravated robbery".
Front Line Defenders expresses deep concern about the ongoing arrests of CODEDI members in Oaxaca under fabricated charges. In February 2019, human rights defender Froylán González was illegally detained by officials for 48 hours while participating in a peaceful protest organised by the indigenous community of Santiago Xanica for the right to self-determination. Froylan Gonzalez spent three day in the custody of the Oaxaca State Police, during which time he suffered ill-treatment.
Front Line Defenders believes that these incidents are part of a broader strategy of intimidation and violence against environmental and indigenous rights defenders, and that the use of fabricated charges has become an effective strategy to intimidate those working to defend those rights in Oaxaca. In this context, human rights defenders have also been killed, such as Noel Castillo Aguilar, another member of CODEDI, who was shot in a taxi on his way home in 2018. Investigations have not shown progress in identifying the perpetrators.
