Mexico: After attack on defender from Unión Hidalgo, organisations call on authorities to investigate the attack and guarantee protection for members of the Collective
"URGENT ACTION: DEFENDERS OF THE LAND, TERRITORY AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF UNIÓN HIDALGO, OAXACA, AT RISK FROM ATTACK", 11 February 2022
...Last Thursday 10 February, Edgar Martín Regalado, member of the Collective in Defence of Human Rights and Communal Property of Unión Hidalgo, was the victim of an attack with a firearm from a moving vehicle while he was travelling home on a motorbike taxi, just hours after participating in a press conference in the city of Oaxaca, where he presented the actions undertaken by the collective with the accompaniment of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Project, A.C. (Proyecto de Derechos Económicos, Sociales y Culturales, A.C.) against the construction of a new building in Unión Hidalgo, Oaxaca. (ProDESC) against the construction and operation of the Gunaa Sicarú wind farm by the company Électricité de France (EDF).
At the press conference, members of the Collective and ProDESC announced the filing of an appeal against the Paris civil court's decision to deny the suspension of the construction of the Gunaa Sicarú wind farm project for violating the rights of the Zapotec community of Unión Hidalgo, including the right to free, prior and informed consultation....
In light of these events, which constitute a direct threat to the life of a human rights defender, and in the context of the growing human rights crisis of the communities in the state of Oaxaca, we demand that the state and federal authorities of Oaxaca
Carry out a prompt and expeditious investigation into the facts denounced.
Guarantee the life, physical and psychological integrity and security of Edgar Martín Regalado and the other members of the Collective in Defence of Human Rights and Communal Property of Unión Hidalgo.
Identify and punish those responsible for this attack.
Guarantee measures of protection and non-repetition for the defenders of the Collective in Defence of Human Rights and Communal Property of Unión Hidalgo...