Since the beginning of Mexico’s coronavirus lockdown , four human rights defenders have been murdered due to their activism, according to civil society organizations.
The Human Rights for Everyone Network (Red TDT) comprised of 86 social organizations, said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, violence against activists has not stopped.
“These four activists were not murdered by chance but as retaliation for defending human rights. We want to stress that the work of three of these people was linked to the defense of land and territory.”
The activists that have been murdered during the health emergency are Isaac Medardo Herrera Avilés (Morelos), Benito Peralta Arias (State of México), Juan Zamarrón Torres (Chihuahua), and Adán Vez Lira (Veracruz).
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The Red TDT argued that during the lockdown, activists have continued performing their work in a more complex context , which renders them even more vulnerable .
“In the framework of the health emergency, it’s clear that the defense of human rights does not stop, instead, it acquires special relevance in a moment in which institutional absences turn into multiples windows of opportunity for committing crimes and violating human rights,” stressed the NGO.
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They added that two of the murders against activists took place in their own homes , which reveals they are not safe anywhere.
“We reiterate the call made by several civil society organizations regarding the immediate actions the Mexican State must take to properly protect people, organizations, and groups that defend human rights ,” they concluded.
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