Case History: Mario Luna Romero
On the night of 24 February 2016, the son of human rights defender Mr Mario Luna Romero was confronted by a group of unknown individuals in the State of Sonora, questioned about his father and thrown from his motorcycle. Mario Luna Romero was released from prison on 23 September 2015, after being imprisoned for one year.
Mario Luna Romero is the Secretary of the traditional authorities of the Vicam town of the Yaqui tribe in Sonora. The human rights defender is also the spokesperson for the Yaqui tribe and others, defending their rights in the context of the construction and operation of the Independence Aqueduct.
On the night of 24 February 2016, the son of human rights defender Mr Mario Luna Romero was confronted by a group of unknown individuals in the State of Sonora, questioned about his father and thrown from his motorcycle.
The attack occurred at approximately 7:30 pm on 24 February 2016, as the son of Mario Luna Romero was travelling by motorcycle in the State of Sonora. A group of unidentified individuals driving in a pick-up truck approached the son of the human rights defender and questioned him about his father and other members of the Yaqui tribe, pulling at his clothes and throwing him off his motorcycle to the ground.
Mario Luna Romero has previously been targeted for his work defending the rights of the Yaqui tribe in Sonora. On 23 September 2015, he was released from the Centre for Social Readaptation Number 2 in Hermosillo, Sonora, after having spent over a year in detention on a trumped-up conviction of kidnapping and theft. He was arrested on 11 September 2014, on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Third Tribunal of the Criminal First Instance Court of Hermosilloes on 14 June 2013. The accusations against him arose following peaceful protests by the Yaqui tribe to call for compliance with a decision of the Supreme Court, which found a violation of the tribe's right of consultation in the granting of the Environmental Impact Authorisation for the Independence Aqueduct, and ordered that a consultation be held.
On 11 September 2014 at 9:40 a.m., human rights defender Mr Mario Luna Romero was arrested by a group of men dressed in civilian clothing who were driving 3-4 white pick-up trucks.
Though they did not identify themselves at the scene, the men were members of the State Police and escorted the human rights defender to the Ciudad Obregón office of the Attorney-Genreal of Sonora State, where he was held incommunicado until about 3:30 p.m. At around 6:45 p.m., the human rights defender was permitted an hour-long visit by his lawyer. The detention of Mario Luna Romero was confirmed by the Attorney-General of Sonora State who explained at a press conference late on 11 September 2014 that an arrest warrant had been executed against him in connection with the abduction of another Yaquí community leader.
Mario Luna Romero is the Secretary of the traditional authorities of the Vicam town of the Yaqui tribe in Sonora. The human rights defender is also the spokesperson for the Yaqui tribe and others, defending their rights in the context of the construction and operation of the Independence Aqueduct. The community has been working to prevent the diversion of water from the Yaqui river, over which the tribe has 50% ownership, to the Independence Aqueduct.
The arrest warrant issued by the Third Tribunal of the Criminal First Instance Court of Hermosilloes concerns the charges of abduction of a member of the Yaqui community who was detained for committing a crime on the tribe's territory as an indigenous person. To read more these allegations, please read the Urgent Appeal dated 13 June 2014.
The arrest of Mario Luna Romero follow a Yaqui tribe protest on 28 May 2013 on Federal Motorway 15 to call for compliance with a decision of the Supreme Court when, on 8 May 2013, it found a violation of the tribe's right to be consulted in the granting of the Environmental Impact Authorisation for the Independence Aqueduct, and ordered that a consultation be held. The consultation process is ongoing and Mario Luna Romero has an important role within it as spokesperson of the community. Between 4 and 6 September 2014, Mario Luna Romero led a delegation of the Yaquí tribe to Washington DC to raise the case and the request for protection measures before the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights (MC452/2013).
According to the constitutional limit, Mario Luna Romero will be released on 17 September 2014 at 12:00 p.m. However, the authorities have requested that he be detained beyond this time so that the authorities can analyse the evidence for longer.
It is believed that the arrest and detention of Mario Luna Romero is part of an ongoing stategy of criminalisation of human rights defenders who are promoting and p
Last week, a First Instance Court for Criminal and Administrative Matters in Hermosillo upheld the arrest warrant against the indigenous rights defender Mr Mario Luna Romero. The court rejected the writ of amparo presented by the human rights defender challenging the arrest warrant issued on 14 June 2013 for charges of aggravated deprivation of liberty and theft of a vehicle.
The arrest warrant issued by the Third Tribunal of the Criminal First Instance Court of Hermosilloes concerns the charges of abduction of a member of the Yaqui community who was detained for committing a crime on the tribe's territory as an indigenous person. The accusations arose out of the events of 8 June 2013, when, during a road block maintained by the Yaqui, a member of the indigenous group committed an infraction while driving his car and, in accordance with the practices and customs of the tribe, was detained, transferred to the Commissary and sanctioned. Article 2 of the Constitution states that, as members of an indigenous community with practices and customs, the community's autonomy to apply its own norms is recognised, and allows for the use of an indigenous legal system to resolve internal disputes within the indigenous communities and towns.
The human rights defender denies the charges, which followed the decision of the Yaqui tribe to protest on 28 May 2013 on Federal Motorway 15 to call for compliance with a decision of the Supreme Court. On 8 May 2013, the court had found a violation of the tribe's right of consultation in the granting of the Environmental Impact Authorisation for the Independence Aqueduct, and ordered that a consultation be held. The consultation process is ongoing and Mario Luna Romero has an important role within it as spokesperson of the community.
Human rights defender Mr Tomás Rojo, another indigenous leader and spokesperson for the Yaqui community, was also the subject of an arrest warrant in June 2013 in connection with the above-mentioned charges. The decision is pending regarding his writ of amparo challenging the arrest warrant against him.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the confirmation of the arrest warrant against Mario Luna Romero, which solely results from his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of the rights of indigenous communities. Front Line Defenders is concerned at the judicial harassment against the human rights defender and his colleague, Tomás Rojo.
