Sr. Gobernador Alejandro Ismael Murat Hinojosa - via US mail and email
Governor of the State of Oaxaca
Dr. Rubén Vasconcelos Méndez - via US mail and email
Attorney General of Oaxaca
Sr. Raúl Ernesto Salcedo Rosales - via US mail
Secretary of Public Security
Sr. Arturo Peimbert Calvo - via US mail and email
Ombudsperson for Human Rights of the State of Oaxaca
June 23, 2020
Dear Sirs:
We are deeply distressed over the death threats issued for feminist journalist Soledad Jarquín and members of the feminist organization Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca (Consorcio Oaxaca) in the municipality of Juchitán de Zaragoza, Oaxaca State.
At 8:40am on June 15, Consorcio members found outside the office door a cardboard sign with a death threat written in violent and misogynistic language and signed CJNG (initials of the drug cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación). There was also a black bag filled with pieces of meat apparently from an animal’s head.
Consorcio Oaxaca has been working in Oaxaca for 15 years, promoting the development of civil society networks for human rights advocacy, training on gender-based rights, and participation in democratic processes and community affairs. Soledad Jarquín is a journalist, a defender of women’s human rights, and the winner of the 2006 National Journalism Award in the category Gender News. She is a columnist in Women and Politics and editor of Las Caracolas, an independent media outlet that focuses on cases of femicide and sexual assault in the context of the historical political conflict in Oaxaca.
Since the murder of her daughter (Maria del Sol Cruz Jarquín, photojournalist, age 27, in June 2018), Soledad Jarquín has been subjected to constant death threats, intimidation, harassment, and digital attacks because of her continuing campaign for judicial authorities to identify and punish the perpetrators of her daughter’s killing. Consorico Oaxaca is one of several civil organizations, embassies, and national and international human rights organizations that have supported her campaign, “Until Justice Arrives,” through advocacy and investigation. The journalist was included in the National Mechanism for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, but was not granted protection measures.
Because of these threats and attacks and the need to protect the dignity of the lives of women, we strongly urge that you:
- carry out an immediate, exhaustive and impartial investigation into the death threats, acts of intimidation and harassment against Consorcio Oaxaca, Soledad Jarquín, as well as the murder of María del Sol Cruz Jarquín
- take all necessary measures to guarantee the safety of Consorcio Oaxaca members and Soledad Jarquín, and adopt protection measures, in strict accordance with their wishes
- guarantee that all human rights defenders in Mexico, and in particular journalists who defend freedom of expression and advocate against gender violence in the context of the increasing rate of femicide in Mexico, can carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisal and free from all restrictions.
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai Christine Stonebraker Martínez
Co-Coordinators
copies:
Sr. Presidente Andrés Manuel López Obredor, President of the Republic of Mexico ~ via US mail
Olga Sánchez Cordero, Minister of the Interior of Mexico ~ via email
Martha Bárcena Coqui, Mexican Ambassador to the US ~ via email
Christopher Landau, US Ambasador Mexico ~ US mail
David Rodríguez, Political Officer, Office of Mexican Affairs, US State Dept ~ via US mail and email
Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, Rapporteur for Mexico, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via US mail and email
Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of Women, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via US mail and email
Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via US mail and email
Obersvatory for the Protection of Human Rights, a joint program of OMCT:World Organization Against Torture and FIDH:International Federation of Human Rights ~ via email
Consorcio para el Diálogo Parlamentario y la Equidad Oaxaca (Consorcio Oaxaca) ~ via US mail
US Senators Brown & Portman and US Representatives Beatty, Fudge, Gibbs, Gonzalez, Johnson, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Ryan ~ via email
18 junio 2020_Telesur_Mexico
The following people hereby urge you to take action on this matter as indicated in this letter:
