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Urgent action (bad news): Five men executed in Bangladesh

Barbel Conrads — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:44:29 +0100

Further information on UA: 20/10 Index: ASA 13/004/2010 Issue Date: 1 February 2010

No further action is requested. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

Five men found guilty of killing Bangladesh’s first president were executed in Dhaka Central Jail in the early hours of 28 January, 13 hours after the final judicial review of their sentences.
Syed Farooq-ur Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Mohiuddin Ahmed, AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Bazlul Huda were hanged one by one soon after midnight on 28 January 2010.
The Supreme Court confirmed their death sentences after its final review of the case on 27 January. Several weeks earlier, the current President, Zillur Rahman, had rejected the mercy petitions of three of the men. He rejected a mercy petition from the fourth man soon after the Supreme Court announced its final decision. The fifth man, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, did not submit a mercy petition to the President.
The five men had been sentenced to death in 1998 for the assassination of Bangladesh’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family in August 1975.

No further action is requested. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

This is the first update of UA 20/10 Index: ASA 13/001/2010. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA13/001/2010/en

Further information on UA: 20/10 Index: ASA 13/004/2010 Issue Date: 1 February 2010

Urgent action: Richard Blanco a Government official held in Venezuela

Marie-Francoise — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:37:04 +0100

UA: 346/09 Index: AMR 53/009/2009 Issue Date: 23 December 2009

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 FEBRUARY 2010 .
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Richard Blanco, a male local government official from Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, is being detained in a prison in Caracas without any evidence of him having committed a crime. His detention appears to be politically motivated.

Richard Blanco is a Prefect in Caracas – a local government official appointed by the city's mayor. On 22 August, he and hundreds of others in the capital and throughout the country took part in a demonstration against a new education law. The law generated strong opposition from the private education sector and from political opposition parties.

Six days later, Richard Blanco was arrested with 11 of his colleagues, allegedly for inciting violence and injuring a police officer during the demonstration. The 11 others were later released but are still facing trial. However, Richard Blanco remains in custody. According to sources in Venezuela, the evidence against him is solely based on video footage from the demonstration. Amnesty International has seen video footage of Richard Blanco taking part in the demonstration. In these videos there is no evidence of Richard Blanco inciting violence or injuring a police officer.

Richard Blanco has been a prominent member of the opposition party, the Alianza Bravo Pueblo for many years. The party's candidate won the elections for Mayor of Caracas in November 2008, beating the candidate from the ruling party of President Hugo Chavez. Since he became Prefect of Caracas in November 2008, Richard Blanco has been outspoken against what he and his party regard as central government interference in affairs under the Mayor’s jurisdiction. Amnesty International is seriously concerned that Richard Blanco’s detention is politically motivated.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

-expressing serious concern that Richard Blanco has spent four months being detained without any evidence that he has committed a crime;

-urging the authorities to either bring him to trial in proceedings that meet international fair trial standards, or else release him immediately.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Minister of the Interior and Justice
Sr. Tarek El Aissami
Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Interiores y Justicia
Av. Urdaneta, Edif. Sede MIJ, Piso 1, Carmelitas, Caracas, Venezuela
Fax: +58 212 506 1557
Salutation: Señor Ministro/Dear Minister

Attorney General
Dra. Luisa Ortega Díaz
Fiscal General de la República
Fiscalía General de la República
Avda. México, Manduca a Pelelojo, Edif. Sede Fiscalía Geneal de la República, La Candelaria, Caracas,
Venezuela
Fax: +58 212 509 8504
mp@fiscalia.gov.ve
Salutation: Señora Fiscal General/ Dear Attorney General
AND COPIES TO:
Richard Blanco's lawyer
Dr. Negar Granados
Calle la Joya Edf Cosmos Piso 3 Ofc 3C
Chacao Caracas 1060
Venezuela
Email: negargranados@gmail.com
Fax 58 212 2652493

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of Venezuela accredited to your country.
Ambassade de la République bolivarienne du Vénézuéla
AV. F. D. ROOSEVELT / F. D. ROOSEVELTLAAN,10
1050 BRUXELLES
eMail: embajada@venezuela-eu.gob.ve
Fax 02.647.88.20

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

According to sources in Venezuela, the number of protests reported to have taken place in the first eight months of 2009 was nearly double the figure for the whole of 2008. Amidst this unrest members of opposition political parties have been harassed, threatened and intimidated, including being charged with spurious offences. In addition, during demonstrations pro-government supporters and anti-government supporters have used violence. Amnesty International has expressed serious concern that violations against political opponents and the violence used by government supporters is not thoroughly, independently and impartially investigated , that the authorities fail to condemn it and fail to send a clear message that these acts are not going to be tolerated.

In January 2009, pro-government activists carrying iron bars, machetes and firearms forced their entrance into the building of the Fundacion Ateneo, a cultural centre in the capital Caracas, to protest against a seminar organised to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of Bandera Roja, a left-wing political party opposed to the government. When the assailants attacked people in the building the police failed to intervene. Later in the year, in September, Julio César Rivas, a student and leader of the United Active Youth of Venezuela, a university association, was detained and charged with “organizing armed groups”, and remained in a high security prison for four weeks until he was released on bail. He had been protesting against the new law on education.

UA: 346/09 Index: AMR 53/009/2009 Issue Date: 23 December 2009

Urgent action: Police shoot two dead, more at risk

Marie-Francoise — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:26:48 +0100

UA: 343/09 Index: AMR 46/019/2009 Issue Date: 23 December 2009

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 4 FEBRUARY 2010 .
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Two men were shot dead by police on 2 December, in their village in north-western Peru, during a search for another man. Other people in the area are in danger of being killed by police in similar operations, unless the government orders the police to review their use of lethal force.

According to a local NGO, the two men were shot in the back and another eight villagers received gunshot wounds. The wounded are now in hospital, and one may need to have his leg amputated.
Around 30 police had arrived mid-afternoon at the village of Cajas-Canchaque, to detain one of seven men wanted for questioning about a 1 November arson attack that killed three mining company employees and burned down the Rio Blanco Copper encampment at "Henry's Hill," near the village.

Police had tried to detain the man that morning, but had been turned away when they could not produce an arrest warrant. They arrested two other men in neighbouring villages that morning, for the same reason, but did not tell either that there was a warrant for their arrest. According to a local NGO, villagers confronted the police, and told them they could not come in. The police tried to force their way in, pushing people aside, including a 70-year-old woman. When the woman pushed back, a police officer shot her, wounding her badly. The police continued shooting, leaving two villagers dead and eight wounded.

The two men arrested in the morning of 2 December were released two days later after a judge ruled that there was no need to keep them in custody.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

-Expressing concern that excessive use of force by police led to the killing and wounding of unarmed civilians in the village of Cajas-Canchaque on 2 December and that people living in the villages within the Community of Segunda y Cajas may be at risk of further excessive use of force.

-Reminding the authorities that Article 3 of the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials states that they "may use force only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty" and that Principle 9 of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials states that "intentional lethal use of firearms" should only be used "when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life."

-Calling on the authorities to carry out a thorough and impartial investigation into the events of 2 December, and bring those responsible to justice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 4 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Attorney General
Dra. Gladys Margot Echaiz Ramos
Fiscal de la Nación /
Ministerio Público
Av. Abancay cdra. 5 s/n
Lima 1
PERU
Fax: + 511 426 2474
Salutation: Sra. Fiscal

Minister of the Interior
Tnte. Gral. PNP Octavio Salazar Miranda
Ministerio del Interior
Plaza 30 de Agosto s/n
Urb. Córpac
San Isidro / Lima 27
PERU
Fax: +511 4758820
email : ministro@mininter.gob.pe
Salutation: Sr. Ministro

And copies to:
NGO
Fundación Ecuménica para el Desarrollo y la Paz
Trinidad Morán 286 - Lince
Peru

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Ambassade de la République du Pérou
AV. DE TERVUEREN / TERVURENLAAN,179
1150 WOLUWE-SAINT-PIERRE
eMail: info@embaperu.be
Fax 02.733.48.19

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The village of village of Cajas-Canchaque is in the community of Segunda y Cajas, in the district of El Carmen de la Frontera, Huancabamba department, Piura province.

The Peruvian security forces have a long history of failing to comply with the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, of which Principle 5 states that "when force is used, states must exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and the legitimate objective to be achieved," and "minimize damage and injury." On 5 June 2009 in the Amazon region, the security forces made excessive use of force to break up a road blockade that indigenous peoples had been maintaining for 50 days, protesting against decree laws that they claimed violated their right to land and livelihood. On 5 June 33 people died, including 23 police officers, and at least 200 Indigenous people and others living in the area around the towns of Bagua and Bagua Grande, in the provinces of Bagua and Utcubamba, were seriously injured.

UA: 343/09 Index: AMR 46/019/2009 Issue Date: 23 December 2009

Urgent action: Monks and nuns threatened with eviction

Marie-Francoise — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:17:17 +0100

UA: 348/09 Index: ASA 41/013/2009 Issue Date: 23 December 2009

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 FEBRUARY 2010. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

A mob with official backing is attempting to evict nearly 200 Buddhist monks and nuns from a monastery in central Viet Nam. The group have been sheltering there since they were evicted from another monastery in September, by a similar mob.

On 11 December a mob of around 100 people, some of whom the monks and nuns recognised as police officers, forced the abbot of Phuoc Hue Monastery to sign an agreement to expel the monks and nuns no later than the end of the year. The mob had gone into the monastery on 9 December, and stayed there, harassing the monks and nuns, most of whom are under 25, and pressuring the abbot to sign the agreement. They disrupted a European Union (EU) delegation investigating the situation at the monastery on 9 December. The authorities have denied any involvement, but have consistently failed to provide any protection for the monks and nuns, or ensure they are offered suitable alternative accommodation.

In September a similar mob, which included police officers, had forced the monks and nuns out of another monastery, Bat Nha. Most of the monks and nuns, who at that time numbered 379, had taken shelter at Phuoc Hue.

The authorities have been actively involved in the mob's actions: they have ordered members of Communist Party organisations to take action against the monks and nuns; pressured members of the monks and nuns' families to give up their way of life; and occasionally blocking supplies of food and other essentials to the monastery.

The monks and nuns are followers of Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk based in France. He came to prominence as a Buddhist peace activist in the 1960s, and is an advocate of freedom of religion and other human rights.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY, in English, Vietnamese, French or your own language:

-Calling on the authorities to protect the monks and nuns from Phuoc Hue from harassment, threats and eviction;

-Urging them to take action to ensure that the Phuoc Hue Monastery is allowed to conduct its activities without fear of harassment or eviction;

-Urging them to order a prompt and impartial investigation into the mob attacks against the monasteries in Bat Nha in September and Phuoc Hue in December, and into reports that the police failed to protect the monks and nuns;

-Calling on them respect the right to freedom of religion, and ensure that religious groups in Viet Nam are able to practice their religion freely.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 3 FEBRUARY 2010 TO: Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Minister of Foreign Affairs
Pham Gia Khiem
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1 Ton That Dam Street
Ba Dinh district, Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: +8443 823 1872
Email: bc.mfa@mofa.gov.vn
Salutation: Dear Minister

Minister of Public Security
Le Hong Anh
Ministry of Public Security
44 Yet Kieu Street
Ha Noi
Viet Nam
Fax: +8443 942 0223
Salutation: Dear Minister

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Ambassade de la République socialiste du Vietnam
BLD GENERAL JACQUES/GENERAAL JACQUESLAAN,1
1050 IXELLES
eMail: vnemb.brussels@skynet.be
Fax 02.374.93.76

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The government maintains rigid control over all aspects of religious life in Viet Nam. Members of churches not officially approved by the state face repression, including being forced to renounce their faith, administrative detention and imprisonment. The Vietnamese authorities have a long history of persecuting religious groups they believe oppose the state. Members of such groups are regularly arrested, harassed and kept under surveillance. These include members of the evangelical Protestant community, Roman Catholics, Hoa Hao Buddhists and the Cao Dai church. The senior leadership of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam has been under house arrest or restrictions for decades, including the Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, Supreme Patriarch, who had been under house arrest since 1982 until his death in July 2008, and newly appointed Supreme Patriarch Thich Quang Do. Human rights violations against evangelical Christian Montagnards in the Central Highlands have continued for years, and people from the mostly Buddhist Khmer Krom community in southern An Giang province likewise face persecution.

UA: 348/09 Index: ASA 41/013/2009 Issue Date: 23 December 2009

Urgent action: Mourners arrested on way to cleric’s funeral

Marie-Francoise — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:25:33 +0100

UA: 347/09 Index: MDE 13/132/2009 Issue Date: 22 December 2009

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 FEBRUARY 2010 .
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

At least five people, including human rights activists, have been arrested in Iran while on their way to attend the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri, a senior cleric who criticized the Iranian government’s crackdown on demonstrators in the aftermath of the June contested presidential elections. Their whereabouts are unknown, and they are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.

Shiva Nazar Ahari and Kouhyar Goudarzi, two human rights activists and members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), and Saeid Haeri, were arrested by police officers and officials from the Ministry of Intelligence on 20 December in Tehran. They were taken from a bus which was about to drive to the northern city of Qom, where the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri took place on 21 December. Also on board the bus were civil society activists and relatives of some of those arrested following the disputed 12 June 2009 presidential election.

Two other men were arrested on 20 December in separate incidents. Press reports suggest that Ahmad Qabel, a religious scholar and student of Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri, was arrested with family members. He was travelling to Qom from the north-eastern city of Mashhad, and is thought to be detained in Mashhad. Mohammad Nourizad, a filmmaker and former journalist on the Tehran daily newspaper Kayhan, was also arrested. Since the June 2009 presidential election he has written blogs critical of the authorities. He may have been arrested to prevent him from writing about Grand Ayatollah Montazeri.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Persian, English or your own language:

-Calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Shiva Nazar Ahari, Kouhyar Goudarzi, Saeid Jalalifar, Ahmad Qabel and Mohammad Nourizad, if they were arrested in connection with the peaceful expression of their views or participation in a peaceful gathering such as the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri, as they would be prisoners of conscience;

-Urging the authorities to immediately disclose their whereabouts and to ensure that they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment and have access to a lawyer, their families and any medical treatment they might require;

-Urging the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Iran.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street, Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary in Tehran
Mr Ali Reza Avaei
Karimkhan Zand Avenue
Sana’i Avenue,
Corner of Ally 17, No 152
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: avaei@Dadgostary-tehran.ir
Salutation: Dear Mr Avaei

And copies to:
Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
Bureau of International Affairs,
Office of the Head of the Judiciary, Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave.
south of Serah-e Jomhouri,
Tehran 1316814737,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: bia.judi@yahoo.com
Fax: + 98 21 5 537 8827 (please keep trying)

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country
Ambassade de la République islamique d’Iran
AV. F. D. ROOSEVELT / F. D. ROOSEVELTLAAN,15
1050 BRUXELLES
eMail: secretariat@iranembassy.be
Fax 02.762.39.15
Fax 02.762.55.49
Fax 02.779.46.66

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Shiva Nazar Ahari, Kouhyar Goudarzi, Saeid Jalalifar were arrested after being ordered off a bus hired by a number of people wishing to travel to the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri. Some five or six plain-clothes officials are said to have boarded the bus in Tehran and, referring to a list, made six people get out. Two were released immediately and got back on the bus, but those named above, along with woman human rights defender Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, were arrested. She was released the following day.

During the bus’s enforced stop, Fakhrossadat Mohtashemipour the wife of detained senior politician Mostafa Tajzadeh, reportedly asked that the security officials, believed to be from both the Ministry of Intelligence and the Law Enforcement Forces , produce identification but was told “Who are you to ask us for identification?” The officials confiscated the identification papers and mobile phones of those on the bus and told them that they could be collected the following morning.

Grand Ayatollah Hosseinali Montazeri had spoken out against about mass executions which took place mainly in 1988 and more recently had been an outspoken critic of the Iranian government’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.

Amnesty International campaigned on behalf of Ayatollah Montazeri, who was arrested and tortured between 1974 and 1976, under Mohammad Reza, the last Shah of Iran. In 1976, Amnesty International reported that a number of his students had been brought to his cell and ordered to beat him. When they refused, they were beaten. In another incident, his then 85-year-old father was brought to prison by security officials and ordered to write a clemency plea for his son. He too refused but was later ordered to sign one already prepared by security officials.

Since the announcement that incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinjead had won the 12 June election, which many people disputed, Iran has seen a series of demonstrations against the government. In the course of the unrest, the authorities have acknowledged 36 deaths, while the opposition claims that over 70 died. Over 4,000 were arrested, many of whom were tortured or otherwise ill-treated in detention centres across the country. Some have alleged they were raped, although the authorities initially denied this after cursory investigations and other measures which appear designed to hide, rather than uncover, the truth. Nevertheless, reports suggest that three officials have been charged with murder in connection with deaths in custody. Over 80 people have been sentenced to prison terms or flogging in connection with the unrest, including those sentenced after mass “show trials” which began in August. At least five have been sentenced to death.
For further information about the post-election events please see Iran: Election contested, Repression compounded (Index MDE 13/123/2009), December 2009, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/123/2009/en

UA: 347/09 Index: MDE 13/132/2009 Issue Date: 22 December 2009

Urgent action: Georgi Nakani, abducted in Russian federation

Marie-Francoise — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:55:51 +0100

UA: 345/09 Index: EUR 46/030/2009 Issue Date: 22 December2009

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 FEBRUARY 2010.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Georgi Nakani, a 21-year-old man from village of Neitrino in the Russian Federation Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in the North Caucasus, was abducted by unidentified men at around midnight on 15 December. He was shot at, pushed into a car and driven away. His whereabouts are unknown and Amnesty International fears he may be the victim of an enforced disappearance.

According to a female relative of Georgi Nakani, he left her flat in Neitrino at about 11.30pm on 15 December. Soon after he had left the house, witnesses saw him being shot at and apparently wounded, dragged into a car without number plates and driven away, followed by a second car.

The witnesses managed to notice the cars’ models and alerted the relatives to what has happened. Some of the witnesses and Georgi Nakani’s relative got into their cars and followed the abductors. They also notified the road police, who gave orders to stop the abductors' cars at a police roadblock.

When the car believed to be carrying Georgi Nakani was ordered to stop, his relative, who was in the car following close behind the abductor’s cars, claims that she saw one of those in the car show what seemed to be identification documents to police officers, after which the abductors’ cars were let through. After that, the pursuing witnesses lost sight of the two cars. Police officers at the roadblock told them later that the men in the abductors’ cars had shown a form of identification used by security services. The car containing Georgi Nagani drove towards the city of Nalchik, capital of Kabardino Balkaria.

Georgi Nakani’s whereabouts remain unknown. Police in Nalchik opened a criminal investigation into his abduction after receiving a complaint from his family.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Russian or your own language:

-Noting that the Russian authorities have started an investigation into Georgi Nakani's abduction;

-Urging them to ensure that the investigation is thorough, impartial, independent and effective;

-Calling on the Russian authorities to inform the family of the whereabouts of Georgi Nakani;

-Urging them to ensure, that if he is found in detention, he is either notified of the charges against him immediately or released without delay.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation
Yurii Yakovlevich Chaika
Ul.Bolshaia Dmitrovka, 15a
Moscow GSP-3
125993
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 692 17 25
Salutation: Dear Prosecutor General

Head of the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General’s Office
Aleksandr I Bastrykin
ul. B. Dimitrovka, d.15a, GSP- 3
125993 Moscow
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 692 17 25
Salutation: Dear Deputy Prosecutor

Prosecutor of Kabardino-Balkaria
Oleg O.Zharikov
Pr.Kulieva, 16
Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria
360030 Russian Federation
Fax: +7 8662 40 45 51
Email: info@prokuror-kbr.ru
Salutation: Dear Prosecutor

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of Russia accredited to your country.
Ambassade de la Fédération de Russie
AV. DE FRE / DE FRELAAN,66
1180 UCCLE
eMail: amrusbel@skynet.be
Fax 02.374.26.13

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Georgi Nakani’s older brother was allegedly detained on two occasions earlier this year, and taken to the so-called Center E (the police's anti-extremism department) in Nalchik and beaten there. On both occasions, according to his family, he was released after his relatives staged a protest in front of the police building. Both Georgi Nakani and his brother are practising Muslims. The police appeared to have arrested Georgi Nakani's brother on suspicion of being a supporter of terrorism.

UA: 345/09 Index: EUR 46/030/2009 Issue Date: 22 December2009

Armando Mendoza Ponce, an environmental campaigner threatened

Marie-Francoise — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:43:26 +0100

UA: 344/09 Index: AMR 41/066/2009 Issue Date: 22 December 2009

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 FEBRUARY 2010 .
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Armando Mendoza Ponce, a 65-year-old male environmental campaigner in Mexico, was threatened with death and other campaigners had stones thrown at them while they prepared for a visit by Mexican parliamentarians in the village of Cerro San Pedro, San Luis Potosi state.

On 11 December, campaigners with the Frente Amplio Opositor (FAO), Broad Opposition Front, a network of organizations opposing the activities of a mining company in Cerro San Pedro, gathered to welcome a delegation of Mexican federal parliamentarians. The parliamentarians wanted to talk to local people about the impact of a nearby mine on the area. Shortly before their arrival, a group of around 100 people in favour of the mine started to throw stones at the FAO activists who were preparing food and banners for the arrival of the parliamentarians. They also took some of the FAO's banners and burned them, as well as damaging and stealing cameras belonging to FAO activists. Some FAO activists received minor injuries in the attack. Armando Mendoza, who is a leading member of FAO, was threatened by some of the attackers who said “we will banish you, there will be blood” (te vamos a desterrar, va correr sangre).

Armando Mendoza is one of the about eight FAO activists, mostly over the age of 65, who still live in the village of Cerro San Pedro, alongside people in favour of the mine.

Most other FAO activists live outside the village. Armando Mendoza and the other activists living in Cerro San Pedro are at risk as they are isolated and receive no protection from either municipal or state police.
Armando Mendoza has been previously threatened and attacked because of his campaigning. In 2007, men shot at Armando Mendoza’s van, which was empty and parked outside his house, in order to deter him from campaigning. In 2008, he was threatened with death. Other environmental campaigners were threatened, attacked, or suffered acts of vandalism. One of them, Mario Martínez Ramos, survived an attempt on his life in 2008.

The mine operating in Cerro San Pedro was shut down in November, after the mining concession was revoked by a federal administrative court. The concession was revoked after the mining company failed to take steps to minimize its impact on the environment.

The mine has since been reopened while an appeal is ongoing.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

-calling for a full, prompt and impartial investigation into the threat against Armando Mendoza Ponce, with the results made public and those responsible brought to justice;

-calling on the authorities to ensure that Armando Mendoza Ponce and other members of Frente Amplio Opositor in Cerro San Pedro receive immediate and effective protection, in accordance with their wishes.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 2 FEBRUARY 2010 TO:
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.

Minister of the Interior
Lic. Fernando Francisco Gómez-Mont
Secretaría de Gobernación
Bucareli 99, 1er. piso,
Col. Juárez, Del. Cuauhtémoc,
México D.F., C.P.06600,
MEXICO
Fax: +52 55 5093 3414
E-mail: secretario@segob.gob.mx
Salutation: Señor Secretario/Dear Minister

Governor of San Luis Potosí
Dr. Fernando Toranzo Fernández
Gobernador de San Luis Potosí
Palacio de Gobierno
Carranza y Jardín Hidalgo no. 11
San Luis Potosí, C.P. 78000, MEXICO
Fax: +52 444 144 2611Salutation: Dear Governor/Señor Gobernador

Attorney General of San Luis Potosí
Lic. Cándido Ochoa Rojas
Procurador del Estado
Eje Vial 100, 1er Piso
San Luis Potosí, C.P. 78000, MEXICO
Fax: +52 444 8 12 5364
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/Señor Procurador

COPIES to local organization: Nucleo Agrario de Cerro San Pedro, email: megadial199@msn.com.

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives of Mexico accredited to your country.
Ambassade des Etats-Unis du Mexique
AV. F. D. ROOSEVELT / F. D. ROOSEVELTLAAN,94
1050 IXELLES
eMail: embamex@embamex.eu
Fax 02.646.87.68
Fax 02.644.08.19

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The village of Cerro San Pedro is on a mountain that has been mined for gold and silver for centuries. A mining company started exploration activities in 1996 and full functioning started in 2006. Local activists claim that mining in the area is damaging the mountain of Cerro San Pedro and poisoning the water.

AI has published two previous Urgent Actions on behalf of Armando Mendoza Ponce and other members of FAO: UA 217/07, AMR 41/052/2007, 22 August 2007, and AMR 41/033/2008, 22 July 2008.