Photo @Voces de Oaxaca
On 19 August, the indigenous human-rights defender Silvia Pérez Yescas, member of Conservation, Investigation, and Exploitation of Natural Resources (CIARENA), received notice that in the community of San José Río Manzo, unknown persons had placed a bounty on her head amounting to 100,000 pesos, this following a long absence of hers from her home. On 16 January 2013, a group of twenty armed men irrupted into the defender’s home, threatening and intimidating her. She and her son escaped unharmed, but following the attack they did not return to their home, for security reasons.
It should be mentioned that in recent years, Silvia Pérez has received more than ten death-threats against her person due to her work with CIARENA. Furthermore, she has been awarded precautionary measures by the Oaxaca state government, though “these have never been completely implemented,” as Front Line Defenders has stated. She also forms a part of the National Mechanism for the Protection of Human-Rights Defenders and Journalists, though “the measures that have been taken have proven insufficient for her security guarantees.”
For more information (in Spanish):
Ponen precio a vida de defensora de derechos Oaxaqueña (Voces de Oaxca, 26 de agosto de 2014)
Mexico: Amenazas en contra de Silvia Pérez Yescas, defensora de derechos humanos de CIARENA (Frontline Defenders, 26 de agosto de 2014)
En inglés: Mexico: Threats against Silvia Perez Yescas, human rights defender from CIARENA (Frontline Defenders)
Acción Urgente: Amenazan a Silvia Pérez Yescas, defensora de DH de CIARENA (Educa, 26 de agosto de 2014)
For more information from SIPAZ (in English):
Oaxaca: Armed men threaten human-rights defender (29 January 2013)
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