Mexican eco-activists protest comrades' jailing
© 2000 Reuters Limited
October 20, 2000
MEXICO CITY - Environmentalists and human rights workers on Wednesday chained themselves to the doors of the attorney general's office (PGR), demanding the release of two ecological activists jailed on drug charges.
Accusing the judicial authorities of torture, the protesters, who also wore gags, said the prison terms of Rodolfo Montiel, winner of a top global ecological award, and Teodoro Cabrera were a trumped-up measure to prevent them from protecting the environment.
"This is a protest against the PGR and the authorities for having allowed so many violations of their human rights in the sentencing of the ecologists," said lawyer Jorge Fernandez of the Miguel Agustin Pro human rights centre.
Montiel, awarded the $125,000 Goldman Environmental Prize for trying to protect the forests of the southern state of Guerrero, and Cabrera were jailed for up to 10 years for growing marijuana and illegal possession of weapons.
The activists have asked for the intervention of President-elect Vicente Fox, who was elected in July and takes office on Dec. 1.
Fernandez, taking part in the protest, said Montiel and Cabrera were tortured and forced to pose before cameras with weapons that did not belong to them.
Greenpeace Mexico director Alejandro Calvillo, another protester, said their case was a threat to all environmental activists in the Latin American nation.