To All Living Things
Last Week's Column

Amnesty Action:
Prisoners of Conscience and Medical Concern in Mexico
Kathy Gay

his week’s action from Amnesty International concerns two Chinantec Indian brothers who have been imprisoned in the city of Veracruz in Mexico since early May. Both men were detained by members of the State Judicial Police without arrest warrants and then held incommunicado for 72 hours. One of them is the leader of an organization that campaigns for compensation to be paid to Chinantec communities displaced by the building of hydroelectric dams in the areas where they live.

Amnesty International believes that one brother is being held solely because of the non-violent work he does concerning land rights for his people and the other simply because he was with his brother at the time of arrest. The organization considers both men prisoners of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.

Amnesty is also very concerned for the health and well-being of one of the men. Reports indicate that he suffers from advanced diabetes and is being denied proper medical treatment in custody, including an appropriate supply of insulin.

Background Information

Scores of prisoners of conscience, mostly indigenous peasants, have been arbitrarily detained in recent years in Mexico. Many have been activists working peacefully to secure rights for their communities in the areas of land, health care and education, and to bring an end to abuses against indigenous people. All too often they have also been the victims of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement agents.

Amnesty International has repeatedly urged Mexican authorities to end the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of human rights violations and to bring to justice those responsible for torture, ill-treatment, "disappearances" and other grave violations.

How you can help

Please send a letter to Mexico’s Minister of the Interior as soon as possible, but no later than August 27, 1997. You may use the sample letter linked below or use it as a model to write your own letter. If you choose to use the sample letter, please cut off or delete all website information at the very top of the letter. If you choose to write your own letter, make sure that it is politely worded, non-partisan (i.e., not used as a vehicle for political expression) and written with respect for the recipient. Be sure to include both your name and address, as well as the date, on your letter.

U.S. airmail postage to Mexico is 40 cents.

Questions?

If you have any questions, just post a message to me (Kathy Gay) on the Pub, and I will respond as soon as I can. I greatly appreciate your interest and support.

To see the sample letter for this action, click here.

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Kathy Gay is a vegan, and has been a member of Amnesty International for nearly 10 years, where she has worked on numerous campaigns. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a business analyst for a leading California bank.

Kathy's column, To All Living Things, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.