The International Service for Peace repeats its deep concern for the physical safety of members of the civil organization and SIPAZ counterpart Enlace Comunicación y Capacitación A.C. and their family members.
On the afternoon of February 25, in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mrs. Margarita Martínez, wife of Adolfo Guzmán Ordaz (Enlace member) left to pick up her son from his elementary school. On her way, at approximately 1:30pm, Martínez was kidnapped by unidentified individuals who placed a plastic bag over her face in order to obscure her vision and forced her to enter a fleeing vehicle. Inside the vehicle, Martínez heard voices one of which she identified as the individual who had held her. The individual proceeded to beat her face with a solid object producing lacerations of the lips and swellings on her forehead and neck. They also engaged in psychological torture by poking an unidentified object on the sides of her body, however it might have been that a knife-like object or a gun was used. They also placed a cold object in her hands and told her that “you will not be able to work anymore,” and insisted that she drop the criminal charges made months earlier against Chiapas government officials.
In addition, the unidentified attackers stated that the kidnapping was “a gift from the municipal president of Comitán.” They eventually released Martínez in a street near her home. These events took place less than 35 hours before the reconstruction of the unlawful entry of her home in Comitán which originally took place on November 8, 2009.
For More Information (Spanish):
Accion Urgente del Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (February 26, 2010)
More Information from SIPAZ:
Chiapas: new harrassmants of a member of the civil organization Enlace, Comunicación y Capacitación, AC (January 13, 2010)
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