Tactics and tools for the protection
of Human Rights Defenders

11 November 2011

On 9 November 2011, human rights organisation Comité Cerezo received an email containing death threats against its members. Six members of the family that founded Comité Cerezo were specifically targeted in the email.

Further Information

Comité Cerezo works on a wide range of human rights issues, particularly focusing on reporting alleged human rights violations committed by the Mexican authorities. Front Line previously issued a previous appeal in relation to death threats against members of Comié Cerezo on 25 September 2006.

On 9 November 2011, at 12.38 pm, a threatening email was received by Comité Cerezo. It read, in part, as follows: “(...) Que quede muy claro no habrá día, mes u año en que nosotros estaremos al pendiente de todo (...) Ojalá cambies francisco, nosotros te vamos a ayudar a cambiar. Como vez? Sabemos que no tendremos respuesta, sabemos que su silencio es su ’inteligencia’, pero sabes francisco y compañia, que también el silencio mata” (Let it be clear that there will not be a day, month or year in which we will not be aware of everything (...) We hope you change Francisco, we are going to help you to change. What do you think? We know that we will not get a response, we know that your silence is your “intelligence”, but understand Francisco and company, that silence also kills).

The email specifically targeted Mr Francisco Cerezo Contreras, founding member and current coordinator of Comité Cerezo; Mr Alejandro Cerezo Contreras, representative of Acción Urgente para Defensores de los Derechos Humanos A.C. – ACUDDEH (Urgent Action for Human Rights Defenders Civil Association) and coordinator of Protection Desk Mexico; Mr Antonio Cerezo Contreras, coordinator of the international section of Comité Cerezo; the two-year old-son of Antonio Cerezo Contreras; Mr Héctor Cerezo Contreras, coordinator of the accompaniment section of Comité Cerezo; and, Ms Emiliana Cerezo Contreras, founding member of Comité Cerezo. A complaint was lodged with the authorities regarding the threats on 10 November.

Members of Comité Cerezo have received death threats before, and of those threatened on this occasion, Francisco Cerezo Contreras, Alejandro Cerezo Contreras, and Emiliana Cerezo Contreras were granted precautionary measures (MC 246-06) by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on 30 October 2006.

Front Line believes that the death threats against the aforenamed members of Comité Cerezo and their families are directly related to the legitimate human rights work being carried out by Comité Cerezo, particularly the reporting of alleged human rights violations by the Mexican authorities. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity and security of the human rights defenders and their families.