Article written by Simon Walker
Felipe Arreaga Sánchez, a campesino ecologist active in the Sierra of Petatlán, Guerrero, was released on September 15 after 10 months in prison. He was cleared of all charges in the 1998 homicide of Abel Bautista, son of lumber baron Bernardino Bautista.
Environmental and Human Rights groups throughout México and the world protested Arreaga Sánchez’s arrest, and maintain that he was held on fabricated charges. Amnesty International and the Sierra Club Foundation both supported the activist and urged the Mexican government to protect the activist and his family from threats and intimidation.
In his resolution, Judge Salinas Sandoval declared the accusations against Felipe Arreaga to be unfounded, and that the evidence presented by the defense clearly showed his innocence. In conclusion, Salinas Sandoval stated that “it is clear that Felipe Arreaga spent more than 10 months in prison due to fabricated charges.”
In a telephone interview Arreaga Sánchez recalled that 13 other campesino ecolgists are still facing charges for the same homicide he was charged with. Among these are leaders of the environmental movement in Guerrero, such as Rodolfo Montiel – tortured by the army and jailed in 1999 – and Albertano Peñaloza, who lost two of his sons in a recent attempt on his life.
Celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day with his family, Arreaga Sánchez commented that “more than 10 months in jail seemed like 10 years to me.” He pledged to continue his defense of the environment, particularly the forests of the Sierra of Petatlán, and that he planned to attend up coming indigenous and campesino conferences.
Guerreran activists have been consistently attacked and threatened in the past years in repression for strong resistance to timber extraction and neoliberal mega projects such as the La Parota dam. Construction on the dam is scheduled to begin in a few months, and would displace 16 communities in Guerrero.
The defense will not rest will Arreaga’s release. A lawyer for the Montaña Tlachinollan Center for Human Rights stated “we demand an investigation to get to the bottom of the officials who participated in the fabrication of these charges.”
Source: La Jornada http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/09/17/033n1est.php
