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Mexico: Authorities used the criminal justice system to investigate and monitor three women human rights defenders

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  • The SEIDO of the then PGR – now FEMDO of the FGR – conducted an unlawful judicial investigation and illegal surveillance activities against these three human rights defenders in 2016.
  • It is not yet known whether surveillance and investigations are ongoing. What is certain is that no official was prosecuted or punished for this.
  • This persecution of the three human rights defenders was approved at the highest level of the then PGR.

In Mexico, the practice of arbitrarily using the criminal justice system against those who report and investigate human rights violations and assist the victims of these violations in their search for justice, truth and full redress has become the norm. Amnesty International Mexico warns of this in its latest report Persecuted: Criminalization of women human rights defenders in Mexico.

The report published today documents the cases of lawyer Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, journalist Marcela Turati Muñoz and forensic anthropologist Mercedes Doretti, who were unlawfully investigated and monitored by the Mexican state for alleged organized crime crimes and kidnapping.

The authorities became involved without sufficient evidence to link the three defense attorneys to any of the alleged crimes. The investigations and surveillance took place as they worked in their various areas to shed light on the massacres of people of different nationalities that were uncovered in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, in August 2012 and April 2011.

Although the investigation and surveillance date back to 2016, it is unknown whether either is ongoing. This uncertainty, which has persisted for eight years, has left the three human rights defenders in a situation of defenselessness, as there is a constant risk that the judicial system and investigations will continue to be used unlawfully, without guaranteeing basic standards of due process.

“Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed its concern about the serious human rights crisis in Mexico. In this context, the case of Ana Lorena, Marcela and Mercedes is emblematic of how the Mexican state arbitrarily uses the criminal justice system to persecute, intimidate and criminalize human rights defenders,” said Edith Olivares Ferreto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mexico.

In this context, the case of Ana Lorena, Marcela and Mercedes is emblematic of how the Mexican state arbitrarily exploits the criminal justice system
to persecute, intimidate and criminalize
Human rights defenders.

Edith Olivares Ferreto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mexico.

“With this kind of persecution, the Mexican authorities are inciting fear not only for these three defenders, but also for other human rights defenders who have every right to contribute to the protection of human rights through their work.” It is inconceivable that anyone would be prosecuted as a result of these efforts. “The three levels of government have a duty to ensure respect for human rights and not to increase impunity,” said Edith Olivares Ferreto.

It is inconceivable that anyone would be prosecuted as a result of these efforts. The three levels of government have a duty to ensure that human rights are upheld and not to increase impunity.

Edith Olivares Ferreto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mexico.

Who is responsible for these investigations and monitoring?

The investigative and surveillance authorities belong to the former Deputy Prosecutor General’s Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime (Sub-Prosecutor Specialized in Investigation of Organized CrimeSEIDO) of the Attorney General’s Office (General Procuraduria of the RepublicPGR) and is now the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (Specialized tax administration and organized delincuencia materiaFEMDO) the Public prosecutor (Fiscalía General de la RepublicaFGR), with authorization at the highest level of the then PGR.

To date, no state officials have been investigated for the alleged human rights violations detailed in Amnesty International’s report.

The report Persecuted: Criminalization of women human rights defenders in Mexico documents how SEIDO employees diverted resources from the investigation of one of the most serious cases of human rights violations, the “Mass Graves of San Fernando” or “San Fernando II,” to monitor the three human rights defenders.

In order to take legal action against these three defenders, SEIDO baselessly used kidnapping and organized crime legislation to unlawfully request communications records from the women.

SEIDO received information about the contacts and whereabouts of the three human rights defenders. In addition, the women’s personal information was unlawfully requested and obtained in order to analyze their signatures. All these measures were taken without complying with the formalities required by law, in particular the absence of a court order.

It is important to note that Ana Lorena, Marcela and Mercedes were examined and monitored as part of the preliminary investigations into the San Fernando mass graves case, according to volume 221 of the relevant file.

SEIDO officials conducted an investigation without charging any of the three women. Furthermore, they were not informed about the allegations against them or why they were being investigated.

Complaint after complaint

The investigations and surveillance against Ana Lorena, Marcela and Mercedes constituted a violation of their rights to privacy, freedom of expression, defense of human rights, non-discrimination and due process. None of the three have received justice or full reparation for the harm caused to them. In addition, they have suffered severe physical, personal, psychological and professional consequences.

But on top of all this there is another point of criticism. The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) closed the complaint filed by the defenders without a detailed and accurate analysis of the human rights violations and reopened the complaint only after the women submitted an injunction and several appeals to that institution.

It is also important to note that although the three human rights activists have been prosecuted, the serious human rights violations against people of different nationalities in San Fernando, Tamaulipas continue to go unpunished: to date, not a single person has been convicted of these deplorable acts.

Recommendations for the FGR

Amnesty International Mexico’s investigation includes several recommendations to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. These include the following:

  • Refrain from pursuing criminal prosecution in connection with the investigations against Ana Lorena, Marcela and Mercedes.
  • Stop all investigations, surveillance activities, and attempted arbitrary prosecutions against Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, Marcela Turati Muñoz, and Mercedes Doretti.
  • Stop, through an internal agreement of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, all messages and actions within the Public Prosecutor’s Office (FGR) (formerly PGR) and other criminal investigation bodies that criminalize the human rights, journalism and forensic work of these three bodies and undermine human rights defenders and the organizations and networks to which they belong.
  • Remove all confidential information and personal data of the three defense attorneys from the preliminary investigations in the San Fernando mass graves case and prevent the reproduction and disclosure by officials of the information contained in the said preliminary investigations.
  • Conduct an effective, impartial, independent and comprehensive investigation into the officials involved in the unlawful investigation and surveillance against Ana Lorena, Marcela and Mercedes within the FGR (formerly PGR), the chains of command and the officials of other government entities, such as State Department employees, who provided information about them and punish those responsible.
  • Ensure full reparations for the harm caused to victims, including clear guarantees that this will never happen to other human rights defenders, independent experts and journalists.
  • Publicly apologize for the investigation and surveillance carried out.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact (email protected)

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