URGENT ACTION

Protester’s family at risk after killing

The family of Mariano Abarca Roblero and other environmental protesters in Chicomuselo, southern Mexico, are at risk after Mariano Abarca was shot and killed in front of his home. Before his killing, he and members of his family are believed to have been repeatedly threatened.

On 27 November, Mariano Abarca Roblero, a male human rights defender and leading member of the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (Red Mexicana de Afectados por la Minería, REMA), was shot three times by a man riding a motorbike. At the time of the attack, Mariano Abarca Roblero was standing in front of his house in Chicomuselo municipality, Chiapas state, talking with a neighbour, also a member of REMA who was injured but survived the attack.

Days before his death, Mariano Abarca Roblero had filed a complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado) relating to a death threat he had received in August. According to the complaint, a man had claimed he would “pump lead into him” (“quebrar[le] la madre a plomazos”) for leading the protests. The PGJE has opened an investigation into the murder of Mariano Abarca Roblero.

Mariano Abarca Roblero and other activists with REMA had set up a roadblock in June to protest at a mining company operating in the area, which they believe is polluting and damaging the environment. They blocked one of the two access roads to the mine. On 17 August, Mariano Abarca Roblero was arrested at the site of the protest by Chiapas state police officers without an explanation or a warrant. He was held in "pre-charge" detention (arraigo) for his participation in the protests but he was released unconditionally on 25 August because there was no evidence that the protest in which Mariano Abarca Roblero was participating was violent or threatened public order. His arrest took place days before members of REMA held a regional meeting in Chicomuselo for environmentalist activists.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

• Calling on the federal and state authorities to provide immediate and effective protection for Mariano Abarca Roblero’s family, witnesses to his murder, and members of REMA in Chicomuselo, in accordance with their wishes;

• urging the authorities to take immediate steps to expedite a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Mariano Abarca Roblero on 27 November in Chicomuselo, to ensure the findings are made public and those responsible brought to account;

• reminding the authorities that local activists who campaign for respect for human rights, including the provision of basic services in their communities, are human rights defenders protected under the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders which recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders and obliges states to ensure they can carry out their activities without obstacles or fear of reprisals.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 14JANUARY 2009 TO: