Chiapas: Pilgrimage in Chilon for Peace and Freedom for Unjustly Imprisoned

On September 20^th, more than a thousand men and women called by the Believing People of the Chab Zone, participated in a pilgrimage in Bachajon, in the municipality of Chilon, with the aim of demanding the immediate release of nine community leaders and defenders; two from this region, five from San Juan Cancuc and two from Pantelho, in addition to requesting the definitive cancellation of the arrest warrant against Father Marcelo Perez Perez.

During the walk through the streets of Bachajon, they sang songs, prayed and read hopeful messages, calling for respect for the life, dignity and freedom of the defenders of the territory. Jose Luis Gutierrez Hernandez and Cesar Hernandez Feliciano participated in the pilgrimage, who were arrested in October 2020, and although they were released in November 2020, their legal process continues and on September 27^th they will have their sentence hearing in Ocosingo.

Likewise, Believing People of the Chab Zone of the Diocese of San Cristobal de Las Casas denounced the arbitrary detention of five community leaders from San Juan Cancuc: Manuel Santis Cruz, Agustín Perez Dominguez, Juan Velasco Aguilar, Agustin Perez Velasco and Martin Perez Dominguez.

“These arrests try to repress the just denunciation of our peoples and hinder peace in our territories. The criminalization of these brothers has been for defending the rights of the native peoples, as well as their territory and their customs, the vital sustenance of our communities”, they stated.

Finally, they called on national and international human rights organizations to be vigilant and show solidarity with these cases of criminalization, which add to the persecution of those who seek paths to peace with justice and dignity for indigenous peoples.

For more information in Spanish:

Marcha-Procesión de tseltales para exigir la libertad de líderes comunitarios presos y perseguidos (Chiapas Paralelo, 21 de septiembre de 2022)

Marchan tseltales católicos por la liberación de presos en Chiapas (Proceso, 21 de septiembre de 2022)

Pronunciamiento de Familias Unidas contra la tortura y por la defensa de los derechos humanos, por la peregrinación del pueblo creyente en Chilón, Chiapas(Frayba, 20 de septiembre de 2022)

For more information from SIPAZ: