Antonio Regis Nicolás
Antonio Regis Nicolás was a Nahua leader, human rights defender, and member of the Nahua indigenous community of Santa María Ostula. He was in charge of security in the community council, from which he worked on defending the community and territory against the invasions and dispossessions from organized crime groups. He also protected the territory from parties who sought to mine the land and exploit its resources.
Human rights defenders (HRDs) and journalists in Mexico are subject to intimidation, legal harassment, arbitrary detention, death threats, acts of physical aggression, enforced disappearances and killings as a result of their activities in defence of human rights and the exercise of freedom of expression and journalism.
Disappearances are endemic in Mexico, often happening with collusion from the state. HRDs working on the issue face serious risk, up to and including death. HRDs working in the defence of territory, particularly indigenous territory, face a similar level of risk. They are criminalised, imprisoned, defamed, and often killed. Journalists working on any of these issues, or issues related to the drugs trade and the government's complicity in this, also run the risk of losing their lives.
