Article by PBI-Canada

Photo: PBI-Mexico accompanied ASMAC at the media conference in which Amnesty International released their report on the situation faced by Indigenous land defenders in the Sierra Tarahumara region in the state of Chihuahua.

Two suspects in the murder of Julian Carrillo, a Raramuri defender of the Coloradas de la Virgen community, were arrested in January 2019.

Now La Jornada reports: “The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Chihuahua issued a conviction against one of the murderers of the activist and defender of the territory of the Sierra Tarahumara, Julián Carrillo Martínez, who was killed on October 24, 2018, in the Coloradas de la Virgen community, municipality of Guadalupe and Calvo.”

That article adds: “The custodial sentence imposed on P.C.C. is based on the National Law of the Comprehensive Criminal Justice System for Adolescents; In accordance with Articles 145 and 164, on the rules for the determination of sanction measures.”

The day prior, February 14, El Diario reported: “The criminal proceedings followed by Feliciano Q.M. for the murder of indigenous activist Julián Carrillo are characterized by extreme security measures. Unlike other Oral Judgments, this case specifically has specific measures that guarantee greater discretion than usual.”

The Sierra Madre Alliance (ASMAC) accompanies the community of Coloradas de la Virgen. In turn, PBI-Mexico has accompanied ASMAC since 2018.

The right to the territory for the Rarámuri and Odami of Coloradas de la Virgen is under threat from forest harvesting and mining concessions.

Kathy Price at Amnesty International Canada has noted: “The assassination [of Julian Carrillo] came just a week after he spoke out against the environmental impacts of a mining concession awarded by authorities to a Canadian mining company without the free, prior and informed consent of the Indigenous people whose lands would be impacted.”

Independent journalist Martha Pskowski has also noted that the murder of Carrillo discouraged some Rarámuri people from speaking out when Calgary-based TC Energy began building a natural gas pipeline through the area.

Webinar on March 11, 3:30 pm EST

Peace Brigades Internationa-Canada and Amnesty International-Canada are co-hosting a webinar on March 11 featuring Isela Gonzalez, the director of ASMAC, speaking about Indigenous rights and the impact of Canadian mining in the state of Chihuahua.

To register for that webinar, please click here.