Chiapas: Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Centre denounces surveillance and harassment of its members and members of other civil society organizations

Victor Hugo Lopez, director of CDHFBC (right) @ SIPAZ

In a bulletin issued on June 16, the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Centre (CDHFBC) denounced a series of acts of surveillance and harassment of its members and members of other civil society organizations. It reported that on April 29, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, the director, Victor Hugo Lopez, was followed and monitored from a vehicle on his way to a work meeting. On May 23, in the context of the Caravan of Solidarity “Galeano lives”, the same vehicle was seen in the premises of the Municipal Sports Centre of San Cristóbal, where the caravan bound for the community of La Realidad was assembling. The bulletin stated that inside the vehicle, a person later identified as Felipe Osorio Lazo, “was videoing in a suspicious manner”. For this reason, the coordinators of the Caravan asked him to identify himself, hand over the camera and leave the site. Within the camera’s memory they found photographs and video of members of Frayba and other civil organizations. The bulletin added that “there is data indicating the involvement of Felipe Osorio Lazo in intelligence work for the Mexican State in various areas of civil society.”

The CDHFBC finally reported that “faced with these events, on June 11, 2014, Frayba filed a complaint with the Special Prosecutor for the Protection and Care of Nongovernmental Organizations for the Defence of Human Rights, of the General Prosecutor of Justice of the State of Chiapas, to conduct the necessary investigations in relation to the actions of harassment and surveillance carried out by Felipe Osorio.  The above has been duly reported to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, through the precautionary measures 5210 that Frayba has with this international organization.”

For more information (in Spanish):

Boletín del Centro de Derechos Humanos Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (CDHFBC, 16 de junio de 2014)

Denuncia Frayba hostigamiento, pide se cumplan medidas cautelares (Radio Formula, 16 de junio de 2014)

Denuncian hostigamiento y vigilancia a defensores de derechos humanos en Chiapas (Chiapas Paralelo, 17 de junio de 2014)

For more information from SIPAZ (in English):

Chiapas: 25-year anniversary of “Frayba” (March 30, 2014)