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PBI-Guatemala accompanies court hearings on Military Diary case; trade unionists among those forcibly disappeared by army and police

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Rubén Amílcar Farfán was kidnapped on May 15, 1984.

PBI-Guatemala has been accompanying the #CasoDiarioMilitar (Military Diary Case) court hearing process that began in May 2021.

Most recently, PBI-Guatemala posted on October 14 that it had accompanied the intermediate stage hearing of the case in High Risk Court C. They further highlighted that the Public Prosecutor’s Office proposed closing the case.

The Military Diary includes trade unionists

The Military Diary gives an account of more than 183 people who were subjected to state security violence between 1983 and 1985.

Ruda has explained that the Military Journal itself is “a record of the names, photographs, and addresses of men and women who were arrested, detained, disappeared and murdered. The list includes students, university professors, trade unionists, and members of social organizations that the Army identified as allies of the guerrillas.”

More pointedly, the National Security Archive also notes: “The military diary is a chilling artifact of the political terror techniques used by Mejía Víctores during that period. It details the kidnapping of 183 people and uses coded language to record the execution of 93 of them. In order to identify and eliminate insurgent leaders and their alleged collaborators, the military and national police used surveillance, wiretapping, kidnappings, interrogations, and torture to extract information from prisoners about their comrades, friends, and family members. The diary was created precisely to report and classify this information so that security forces could operate against other potential targets.”

Reflecting on this time, Miguel Angel Albizures, a trade unionist in the 1980s, tells Agencia Ocote: “The workers’ movement, the trade union movement, was seriously affected with the kidnapping and disappearance of many leaders.”

Rubén Amílcar Farfán

It has been reported that Rubén Amilcar “always thought about the common good and the vindication of labor rights [and] almost from the moment he started working, he was a member of the Road Workers’ Union” and that the first time he was arrested by security forces was “in 1980, while negotiating the Collective Agreement on Working Conditions with his union colleagues.”

Agencia Ocote further reports: “On May 15, 1984, Rubén Amílcar Farfán was kidnapped by state security forces on the corner of 12th Avenue and 9th Street, in Zone 1 of Guatemala City. He was a trade unionist, a student of Humanities and a proofreader at the University of San Carlos press. …Since then, his family, especially his sister Aura Elena Farfán, has dedicated themselves to seeking justice for Rubén and the thousands of disappeared during the war.”

And No-Ficción has reported: “Aura Elena Farfán became involved in the search for the disappeared in March 1984, after the kidnapping of Luz Haydeé Méndez Calderón, her cousin’s partner. Armed men broke into her home and Luz Haydeé was tortured in front of her two children, whom they held for two days.”

That article continues: “Two months later, on May 15, 1984, Aura Elena’s brother, Rubén Amilcar Farfán, was disappeared… A month later, on June 4, Aura Elena Farfán became one of the founders of the Mutual Support Group [GAM]…”

Photo: PBI-Guatemala began accompanying GAM office in April 1985.

Prensa Comunitaria has reported: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office directly accused Alix Leonel Barillas Soto of having participated in the capture of Rubén Amílcar Farfán, who was transferred to the former facilities of the Polytechnic School that were used as a detention and torture center.”

At the hearing that PBI-Guatemala accompanied on October 14, the Public Prosecutor Officer now recommends closing the case against Alix Leonel Barillas Soto.

Union activists Álvaro René Sosa Ramos and Amancio Samuel Villatoro

No-Ficción has reported: “Álvaro René Sosa Ramos was Secretary of Organization of the Diana company union during 1979 and 1980, years of intense repression against the union movement. …Captured by the authors of the Military Diary on March 11, 1984, he escaped two days later. …In 2007 he told the Public Prosecutor’s Office that during his captivity he heard other kidnapped people.”

The article continues: “They showed him Amancio Samuel Villatoro, general secretary of the Adams factory union, kidnapped for a month and a half and whose body, located in the old San Juan Comalapa detachment, was identified in November 2011.”

Next hearing

The next hearing in the Military Diary Case is scheduled to be held on January 14, 2026.

We continue to follow this.

Peace Brigades International, Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders to monitor sentencing of Indigenous land defenders in Canada

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson in front of the courthouse in Smithers, Wet’suwet’en territory, October 14, 2025.

Amnesty International has posted this media release that highlights: “Amnesty International, Peace Brigades International and Front Line Defenders will be closely monitoring the sentencing this week [Wednesday October 15 to Friday October 17] of Indigenous land defenders who have been criminalized by Canada for protecting unceded Wet’suwet’en Territory against the construction of a fossil-fuel pipeline.”

And this statement from Front Line Defenders notes: “Front Line Defenders reiterates its concern at the criminalisation faced by Sleydo’, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko, and will continue to closely monitor the situation. Front Line Defenders reminds the Canadian government of its obligation under international law to ensure the protection of Wet’suwet’en land defenders and to guarantee all human rights defenders in Canada are free to exercise their right to defend rights free from all restrictions, including from judicial harassment.”

Yintah_access social media post.

The Amnesty International media release includes these quotes:

Sandra Patargo, Front Line Defenders: “The case of the Wet’suwet’en land defenders adds to an alarming pattern of criminalisation of Indigenous defenders in the Americas and sets a dangerous precedent for land defence in Canada.”

Erin Riley-Oettl, Amnesty International Canada: “Amnesty International will not hesitate to designate these courageous defenders as prisoners of conscience if they are sentenced to jail or house arrest.”

Brent Patterson, Peace Brigades International-Canada: “We are deeply concerned by the criminalization of these land and environmental defenders who were upholding ‘Anuk niwh’iten (Wet’suwet’en law) and protecting unceded territory from a destructive extractivist megaproject. The surveillance, harassment, intimidation and offensive remarks made against them by the RCMP is disturbing. This must end. Any sentencing involving either jail time or house arrest would be unjust and unwarranted.”

Video: “Dramatic Video Shows Militarized Canadian Police Raid Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders & Journalists” (Democracy Now!)

PBI-Canada and Amnesty International will also be present for this solidarity march to the courthouse tomorrow, Wednesday October 17 at 8:30 am. “The goat” is a statue located at Main Street and Highway 16, about a 10 minute walk from the courthouse.

We will continue to post updates throughout the week.

Further reading: PBI-Canada has previously visited Wet’suwet’en territory in June 2025 and November 2021.

PBI-Spanish State supports the October 15 strike against the genocide in Palestine

By
Brent Patterson
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Peace Brigades International-Spanish State has posted on its social media channels in three languages that it “supports the strike against genocide in Palestine called for 15 October.”

elDiario.es reports: “This Wednesday, 15 October, various trade unions have called for strikes across the country and in all workplaces: the Comisiones Obreras [the Workers Commissions with 1,087,714 members] and the UGT [the General Union of Workers representing 983,521 members] have registered a call for partial two-hour strikes during each work shift, while the CGT [the General Confederation of Labour with 80,000 members] has called for a 24-hour general strike nationwide.”

Social media post from the Comisiones Obreras.

Social media post from the UGT.

Social media post from the CGT.

The elDiario.es article also notes: “The unions organizing the protests have issued statements justifying their decision [despite the recent ceasefire]. In the case of Comisiones Obreras and UGT, last Friday they stated that ‘no plan can be considered a lasting peace if it excludes the Palestinian people, perpetuates the occupation or ignores United Nations resolutions’. For its part, the CGT union issued a statement on Monday reaffirming its call for action due to Israel’s violation of previous agreements and the uncertainty as to whether this is a ceasefire agreement or a peace agreement: ‘This is a ‘phased agreement’ and tensions could lead to further attacks at any time.’”

And elDiario.es also explains: “On this occasion, workers throughout the country and in all sectors are called to strike. It applies to all salaried workers, in any sector or activity, whether public or private. …The right to strike is a personal right recognized by the Spanish Constitution, whether or not the worker is a union member. Official calls by trade unions allow all workers to exercise this right, whether in partial stoppages or in a 24-hour general strike.”

Human rights defenders under attack

Last month, the London, UK-based organization Global Witness noted: “In 2024, two separate international court rulings cited that a case of genocide in Gaza was plausible and ordered Israel to cease military actions aimed at destroying the population.”

Global Witness adds: “Documenting killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders within these contexts is challenging and has not been possible for 2024. To do so in the future, it is vital to situate the work of Palestinian defenders within the wider struggle for self-determination and their land and environmental rights.”

In May 2025, the Dublin-based organization Front Line Defenders (the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders) also acknowledged: “In some regions and countries, including Palestine, the documentation of cases is highly challenging, if not virtually impossible.”

Despite this, Front Line Defenders documented the killing of 31 Palestinian human rights defenders in 2023 and 2024.

They further note: “Those defending the right to health and the right to life as doctors, nurses, or ambulance workers, those exposing and documenting war crimes as journalists, and those providing humanitarian support as volunteers or employees of aid agencies were all specifically targeted by Israeli bombs or guns.”

Further reading: 

Unifor passes resolution in support of Palestinian workers and their call for an arms embargo on Israel (August 27, 2025)

PBI-Guatemala observes march in Guatemala City that denounces the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza (October 6, 2025).

PBI-Canada observes emergency rally calling for the release of Gaza flotilla participants held in Israeli custody (October 10, 2025)

PBI-Canada attentive to the journey of the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life from Mexico to Brazil

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video: The Caravana at a press conference in Coatepeque, Guatemala.

The Assembly of the Indigenous Peoples of the Isthmus in Defense of Land and Territory (APIIDTT) has announced that the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life is now on its way from Mexico to Brazil for the COP30 climate summit.

The APIIDTT website notes: “Today, October 12, 2025, the day of indigenous dignity and resistance, the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life begins its journey from Guatemala to the south of the continent, crossing territories in struggle in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil.”

“It is a journey through wounded and dignified territories, through geographies marked by extractivism, displacement, criminalization and death, but also by organization, rebellion and life that refuses to surrender.”

Their article further highlights: “We call on civil society throughout the region and the world to remain attentive to the route of this caravan. …We call on human rights organizations to observe, denounce and document the abuses and violations we face at the border crossing and in every community criminalized for defending life.”

Peace Brigades International-Canada has responded to that call and is attentive to the caravan’s journey.

Desinformémonos also reports: “The journey of the Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life has just begun. After leaving Mexico City, they will cross the southern border to Coatepeque, Guatemala, where on October 12 they will resume their activities with a press conference in the company of indigenous and peasant movements in the region.”

Video: October 12 press conference.

That article also reports that in the days to come they will be meeting with various organizations, defenders and communities, notably: “They will be received by the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).”

We add that the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has accompanied COPINH since May 2016.

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: Caravan for the Climate and Life set to travel from Mexico to Brazil for the UN COP30 climate conference (PBI-Canada article, February 27, 2025).

PBI-Canada observes emergency rally calling for the release of Gaza flotilla participants held in Israeli custody

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Emergency gathering outside the Prime Minister of Canada’s office, October 8, 2025.

Peace Brigades International-Canada welcomes the release of Indigenous land defender Mskwaasin Agnew from Israeli custody.

Radio Canada reports that Cree/Dene land defender Mskwaasin Agnew has been released and is now in Türkiye after the Gaza aid flotilla she was participating in was intercepted in international waters by the Israeli military on October 8.

Social media post from Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction.

On October 8, PBI-Canada observed an emergency rally outside the Prime Minister of Canada’s office in downtown Ottawa that called for the release of Agnew and all other human rights defenders from Israeli custody.

A United Nations media release has explained: “The Conscience, the flagship vessel of this Flotilla was carrying 92 passengers, including journalists, health and care workers, and other human rights defenders, sailing to break Israel’s siege and blockade of Gaza. Sixteen of those were international journalists from 10 countries.”

Two Canadians released, subjected to “psychological torture”

The Radio Canada article adds that two Canadians, activist Khurram Musti Khan and epidemiologist Nima Machouf, have also been released.

Radio Canada quotes Machouf saying: “We were attacked at sea, in international waters by the Israeli army. They landed with two black helicopters in the middle of the night, they arrested us and took us to the port of Ashdod.”

Machouf further notes that she and others were subjected to “psychological torture” while in detention at Israel’s Ketziot prison.

Three Canadians continue to be held

David Heap, a spokesperson for the Canadian Boat to Gaza group, says with the release of Agnew, Machouf and Khan from prison: “That leaves three Canadians still in prison [and] illegally detained in Israel, and in very difficult conditions.”

Those three are Devoney Ellis, Sadie Mees and Nikita Stapleton.

A 5-minute CBC News interview, posted on October 3, with Devoney, Sadie and Nikita can also be seen here.

Video: (from left to right) Devoney Ellis, Sadie Mees and Nikita Stapleton.

Human rights defenders under attack

Last month, the London, UK-based organization Global Witness noted: “In 2024, two separate international court rulings cited that a case of genocide in Gaza was plausible and ordered Israel to cease military actions aimed at destroying the population.”

Global Witness adds: “Documenting killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders within these contexts is challenging and has not been possible for 2024. To do so in the future, it is vital to situate the work of Palestinian defenders within the wider struggle for self-determination and their land and environmental rights.”

In May 2025, the Dublin-based organization Front Line Defenders (the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders) also acknowledged: “In some regions and countries, including Palestine, the documentation of cases is highly challenging, if not virtually impossible.”

Despite this, Front Line Defenders documented the killing of 31 Palestinian human rights defenders in 2023 and 2024.

They further note: “Those defending the right to health and the right to life as doctors, nurses, or ambulance workers, those exposing and documenting war crimes as journalists, and those providing humanitarian support as volunteers or employees of aid agencies were all specifically targeted by Israeli bombs or guns.”

Further reading: PBI-Guatemala observes march in Guatemala City that denounces the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza (October 6, 2025).

PBI-Canada will be on Wet’suwet’en territory to observe the sentencing of Indigenous land defenders by Canadian court

By
Brent Patterson
-

Peace Brigades International-Canada, along with representatives from Amnesty International, will be on Wet’suwet’en territory for the sentencing of three Indigenous land and environmental rights defenders in a Supreme Court of British Columbia courtroom in the town of Smithers.

Yintah_access has posted on social media:

“Next week, October 15-17, is our final court date when Sleydo’, Shaylynn and Corey will be sentenced for the criminal contempt charges they received for upholding ‘Anuk niwh’iten (Wet’suwet’en Law). It has been a long four years.

Since winning the Abuse of Process claim where we proved to the courts the RCMP violated their Charter Rights during their arrests and detention, many thought the case was over. But our fight and the fight for the Yintah is far from over.

Please show your support in whatever way you can! The outcome of this case will be precedent setting for all land defenders upholding their responsibilities. The criminalization of Indigenous people for defending their land needs to end.

Please like, save and share far and wide. Keep your eyes on our socials. We continue to stand for the rights of all our people asserting their sovereignty within these colonial systems. None of us are free until we are all free.”

The call to witness the sentencing

During a Keepers of the Water-organized webinar in May 2025, Vancouver-based criminal defence lawyer Frances Mahon stated: “We are moving on to the sentencing process [for Sleydo’, Shaylynn and Corey Jayohcee Jocko], that will happen October 15th, 16th and 17th on Gidimt’en territory in Smithers, British Columbia. I really encourage anybody who is in the area or is able to travel to actually come up and to witness that.”

“Intrusive and aggressive surveillance, harassment and intimidation” of land defenders by Canadian police

In their report “Criminalization, Intimidation and Harassment of Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders” (published in 2023), Amnesty International documented that: “Since [Coastal GasLink/CGL fracked gas] pipeline construction activities began, the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police], CRU [the RCMP Community Response Unit, the new name for the Community-Industry Response Group/C-IRG] and employees of Forsythe Security (the private security firm hired by CGL), have subjected Wet’suwet’en land defenders within their territory to intrusive and aggressive surveillance, harassment and intimidation. Some actions by the RCMP appear to be discriminatory, degrading and highly culturally insensitive. This represents disproportionate use of police powers aimed at intimidating Wet’suwet’en land defenders and preventing their land defence activities.”

Video: “Dramatic Video Shows Militarized Canadian Police Raid Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders & Journalists” (Democracy Now!)

Judge: RCMP officers made “grossly offensive, racist and dehumanizing” remarks

On February 18, 2025, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in favour of the abuse of process application brought by land defenders Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jayohcee Jocko in relation to their treatment by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) during a raid on Wet’suwet’en territory on November 18-19, 2021.

APTN News has reported: “A B.C. Supreme Court judge says members of the RCMP made ‘grossly offensive, racist and dehumanizing’ remarks about Indigenous women who were arrested in 2021 during a blockade of Coastal GasLink pipeline construction. Justice Michael Tammen says the state misconduct findings don’t warrant a stay of proceedings against the women, but they and another protester will get a reduction in their sentences for criminal contempt as an ‘appropriate’ remedy. Tammen says that criminal contempt carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but those convicted typically receive short sentences.”

Potential designation as prisoners of conscience

Ana Piquer, the Mexico City-based Americas director at Amnesty International, has previously commented: “If the Canadian state decides to unjustly criminalize and confine Sleydo’, Shaylynn, and Corey, Amnesty International will not hesitate to designate them as prisoners of conscience. Canada is on the sadly long list of countries in the Americas where land defenders remain at risk for their essential work.”

On the Keepers of the Water webinar, Erin Riley-Oettl from Amnesty International Canada also stated: “When we are looking at the next chapter, the sentencing is in the fall. Amnesty International designated Chief Dsta’hyl as the first ever prisoner of conscience held in Canada. For Amnesty International, we will make a lot of noise and we’ll do it again. We will make a lot of noise to say it is not okay to criminalize individuals and hold them in their house or in jail, either house arrest or jail time, solely for political, religious or consciously-held beliefs or an unchangeable characteristic about themselves. They have not used violence and they are being detained and it’s unlawful. And so we hope that there is no need, but if it happens again in the fall where anyone has house arrest or jail time, then we are prepared to also declare prisoners of conscience again.”

For additional updates, please visit Yintah Access on Instagram.

Further reading: PBI-Canada has previously visited Wet’suwet’en territory in June 2025 and November 2021.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives notes the Protection Mechanism in Mexico at House of Commons committee presentation

By
Brent Patterson
-

On October 9, Stuart Trew, senior researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and director of the CCPA’s Trade and Investment Research Project (TIRP), presented to the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT).

Trew noted in his presentation:

“In light of the new Canada-Mexico Action Plan, I think it would be beneficial to strengthen cooperation with Mexico in areas like human rights as well by supporting the Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists which is under the jurisdiction of the Mexican government. This benefits Canadian businesses by giving them greater assurances that their Mexican operations are not going to be involved perhaps involuntarily in human rights violations.”

Trew also highlighted the need to strengthen the investigative powers of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) in response to a question from Bloc Quebecois Member of Parliament Claude DeBellefeuille.

The Committee on International Trade is composed of ten Members of Parliament.

Espacio OSC, accompanied by the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project and Peace Brigades International-Canada, recently met with two members of this Committee, Chair Judy Sgro and Vice-Chair Pierre-Simon Savard-Tremblay, to also highlight the importance of the Protection Mechanism.

Espacio OSC meets with Liberal MP Judy Sgro.

Espacio OSC meets with Bloc Quebecois MP Pierre-Simon Savard-Tremblay.

Notably, the Government of Canada has previously also expressed concern about the Protection Mechanism during the United Nations (UN) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Mexico and made recommendations for its strengthening.

At the UN UPR session held on January 24, 2024, Canada recommended that Mexico: “Strengthen, from an intersectional and gender perspective, the federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, specifically in the areas of prevention, protection, investigation, and reparation.”

Prior to this session, Canada had also asked Mexico: “How will the new General law to respect, protect, guarantee, and promote the rights of human rights defenders and journalists address key challenges under the current mechanism, including in achieving results, improving federal-state-municipal cooperation, and promoting prevention of violence against human rights defenders and journalists?”

During their recent visit to Ottawa, representatives from Espacio OSC reminded officials at Global Affairs Canada that Canada has taken this position on the Protection Mechanism and encouraged them to follow-up on this.

We continue to follow this.

Further reading: In its overview of the visit to Canada, Espacio OSC published “Espacio OSC promoted a political agenda for the protection of defenders and journalists in Mexico in Canada” that notes: “In dialogue with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and academics at Carleton University, analyses were exchanged on the contexts of structural violence, collective protection strategies and the need to incorporate the feminist and community perspective in protection policies.”

PBI-Guatemala accompanies Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa march against the Los Manantiales heavy metal antimony mine

By
Brent Patterson
-

On October 8, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:

“#PBI accompanies the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa Chiquimula on a peaceful march to denounce the fact that the Los Manantiales mine continues to operate despite an injunction demanding its suspension, reforestation and clean-up.

The municipal mayor accompanied the action and reaffirmed: No to mining, no to tree felling!”

On November 29, 2019, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “The mining activity of the company Cantera Los Manantiales, which operates in Olopa, Chiquimula, and has been extracting metals since 2012, was provisionally suspended by the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), because Ch’orti’ communities denounced that the license was granted in violation of the prior consultation process and the environmental impact study does not have a favorable opinion from the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN).”

That article also noted: “The Nuevo Día association took over the legal representation of the community members in 2015, when they began to notice pollution effects in the streams and streams that serve for their daily consumption, these water sources flow into the Jupilingo River, where the mining company sends its mining waste, along with this the inhabitants of the three closest communities recorded, at least 2 people sick with purple, a rare skin disease, according to Jeremías Hernández, a companion of the affected communities and a member of Nuevo Día.”

The Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council

PBI-Guatemala has previously explained: “The Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa are fighting for recognition as indigenous communities, the recovery of their spirituality, the defense of their territory and the right to free, prior and informed consultation before the entry of mining projects into their territory. They also seek to minimize the negative impacts of mining activities on the health of the people in their communities, denounce illegal logging and fight against gender violence in their communities.”

Accompaniment

Peace Brigades International began accompanying the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa in June 2021, following their request based on the serious increase in security incidents, defamation and criminalization processes.

 

PBI-Mexico accompanies Ayotzinapa anniversary march in Mexico City, press conference in Cuernavaca

By
Brent Patterson
-

The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project has posted on social media:

“Yesterday, 26 September, marked 11 years since the disappearance of the 43 students from #Ayotzinapa. Mothers, fathers, collectives and organisations continue to raise their voices for memory, truth and justice.

PBI Mexico was present accompanying:

🔹 The march in Mexico City in memory of the 43 students.

🔹 In Cuernavaca, the press conference organized by the Independent Human Rights Commission of Morelos, in commemoration of this anniversary.

We join the call of organisations and families for events such as these not to be repeated and for truth, justice and reparation.”

Press conference in Cuernavaca

On September 26, El Sol de Cuernavaca reported: “11 years after the disappearance of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa, the Independent Human Rights Commission (IACHR) and the Morelos Pact for Sovereignty called for justice in the face of the crime that has not been solved so far, expressed solidarity with the families of the victims and demanded clear answers from the government.”

“In a statement made this afternoon, José Martínez Cruz, a member of the IACHR, commented that both organizations met in the main square of Cuernavaca to demand justice and truth, which will clarify the whereabouts of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa, who disappeared in Iguala on September 26 and 27, 2014.”

That article continues: “He [also] took the opportunity to make an attentive call regarding the 2 years of war that Palestine is facing, pointing out that just as they fight for truth and justice for the 43 missing and the more than 125 thousand disappeared throughout the country, they also stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza and the West Bank. to stop the genocide committed by Israel and demand respect for the Sumud Global Flotilla, which carries food to stop famine.”

Mega-march in Mexico City

And just before the rally, El Heraldo reported: “The parents of the students will lead a day to demand justice, with rallies and mobilizations throughout Mexico City. The main rally is expected to take place in the capital’s Zócalo after the main contingent leaves the Angel of Independence at 4:00 p.m., with a capacity estimated by the Secretariat of Citizen Security of at least 3,000 people.”

Parents wait for answers

Earlier this year, Thomson Reuters reported: “For more than a decade, the [Mexican] government has promised action in finding those responsible, with investigations publishing varying accounts of what happened to the students from the southern state of Guerrero. In 2022, investigators acknowledged that local, state and federal officials had played a role in covering up their disappearance. International probes have ruled they were likely kidnapped and killed by organized crime members in cahoots with police. Victims’ families have long pressed for justice, though no one has been convicted in connection to the case.”

In early-September, El Pais reported on the lack of progress in this case and that families of the disappeared students continue to wait for the extradition of Tomás Zerón.

That article explains: “Zerón, the former director of the Mexican Attorney General’s Office’s Criminal Investigation Agency, [is] accused of forced disappearance, financial crimes, and torture of a detainee in the case. A fugitive in Israel, Zerón continues to give interviews and participate in documentaries to provide his version of the massacre, despite three extradition orders that Israel has yet to accept.”

In July 2020, CBC News reported that Zerón was in Canada.

Anniversary remembered in Canada

During a PBI-Mexico advocacy tour with Espacio OSC in Canada last month, the 11th anniversary was remembered at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument in Nelson Mandela Square.

Espacio OSC posted on social media: “As part of the advocacy tour in #Canada, #EspacioOSC and @pbicanada join the demand for truth and justice for the 43 student teachers from #Ayotzinapa. We call for international solidarity and urge that they not be forgotten.”

We continue to follow this.

Solidarity rally to call for release of Cree/Dene land defender Mskwaasin Agnew and all others detained from Gaza flotilla

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: Mskwaasin Agnew.

CBC News reports: “The Israeli military intercepted a nine-boat flotilla trying to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza early Wednesday [October 8] in the Mediterranean Sea and detained [the 150] activists on board, including six Canadians, the flotilla organizers and the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.”

Those six are: Mskwaasin Agnew, Devoney Ellis, Nimâ Machouf, Sadie Mees, Khurram Musti Khan, and Nikita Stapleton.

A United Nations media release further explains: “The Conscience, the flagship vessel of this Flotilla was carrying 92 passengers, including journalists, health and care workers, and other human rights defenders, sailing to break Israel’s siege and blockade of Gaza. Sixteen of those were international journalists from 10 countries.”

Mskwaasin explained why she was on board the Conscience in this open letter posted on social media. She wrote: “Our joined liberation struggle as Indigenous people, our survival, hinges on the resistance spirit within us all. The Canadian government is funding a genocide. The same state that persecuted our grandparents and ancestors. The same state that denies dignity and personhood to the people I see everyday.”

Her comments from on board the ship can also be seen here.

A 5-minute CBC News interview with Sadie, Nikita and Devoney can also be seen here.

The CBC News article highlighted above continues: “The interception [on October 8 by Israeli military forces] came after [479] activists from a previous, high-profile flotilla — including European lawmakers and climate activist Greta Thunberg — were intercepted on more than 40 boats [on October 2] last week trying to reach Gaza.”

Three Canadians were detained at that time including Zaheera Soomar and Rabab Moustapha.

Wet’suwet’en solidarity

Wet’suwet’en land defender Molly Wickham has posted on social media:

“Our relative @mskwaasin_agnew is aboard the Conscience with the Flotilla to break the barrier to Gaza, bringing much needed medical supplies and aid to the Palestinian People. Earlier today the Israeli war jets were surrounding them and we are awaiting news of their position.

We are all connected! Our liberation as Indigenous Peoples and our survival as a human species relies on stopping this gen0cide. It was once us who experienced these types of atrocities and we must support the end to the siege on Gaza. We demand a two way arms embargo and the safe passage of our sister.

Watch for solidarity actions/marches and support the Conscience. Big love and prayers to our sister for the ancestors to protect her and her companions.

Light your sacred 🔥 fires.

#planprepareprotect

#theconcience”

Demands of the Canadian government

Métis visual artist and social justice advocate Christi Belcourt has also help amplify this post on social media:

Solidarity rally on Algonquin territory/Ottawa

Gabrielle Fayant, co-founder of the Assembly of Seven Generations, has posted on social media:

“We will be coming together on unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin territory to pray for a safe passage for @mskwaasin_agnew, all Canadians on board @gazafreedomflotilla and all humanitarian aid workers doing what they can to provide food and medical aid to Palestinians who are being starved and murdered by Isr3@l.

As Indigenous peoples, we’ve been here before. We’ve survived and continue to survive genocides and we know the power of our prayers.”

United Nations

In a United Nations (UN) media release issued on October 8, Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, commented on the interception of the Conscience in international waters : “This attack against unarmed civilians on the high seas is yet another violation of international law by Israel.”

On September 9, prior to the interception of the two flotillas, a United Nations media release also stated: “United Nations experts* today urged Israel to cease all threats of harm against the Global Sumud Flotilla and ensure it proceeds unhindered in its mission to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza.” Those UN experts included Special Rapporteurs Francesca Albanese, Pedro Arrojo Agudo and Gina Romero.

We continue to follow this.

The demand that the six people from Canada be released by Israel.

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