On December 17, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project posted, “On December 16, the 9th anniversary of the murder of Maricela Escobedo, defender killed in front of the courthouse while fighting to do justice against the femicide of her daughter Rubí, is commemorated. Both unpunished events to this day.”
Rubi was murdered in 2008 when she was 16 years of age.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative has noted, “Rubi disappeared from Ciudad Juarez in August 2008. Her former boyfriend, Sergio Barraza, was considered the main suspect but local authorities were slow to investigate.”
“Marisela launched her own investigation, gathering material evidence. During her search, Sergio finally confessed to his crime, leading Marisela and the authorities to Rubi’s body, where all that remained were charred pieces of bone.”
On December 19, 2010, just days after Marisela was murdered, The Telegraph reported, “Escobedo was protesting against the release from custody of her daughter’s alleged murderer, Sergio Barraza, who was also Rubi’s live-in boyfriend.”
“Prosecutors said Barraza had admitted murdering Rubi and led police to the body. But at trial he denied this and claimed he was tortured into confessing. [Following the murder of Maricela], the three judges who ordered Barraza’s release have been suspended pending an investigation into the handling of the case.”
“Escobedo previously said she had received death threats from Barraza’s family. He is now a suspect in the mother’s killing as well, investigators said.”
PBI-Mexico has previously commented, “It is one of the most emblematic cases of Chihuahua.”
This past June, PBI-Mexico accompanied the media conference convened by three organizations: the Centre for Women’s Human Rights (Centro de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres), the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and Mexicans in Exile (Mexicanos en el exilio).
PBI-Mexico has explained, “They presented the petition filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to accept the case of Marisela Escobedo.”
CEJIL notes, “The petition issued to the IACHR will allow the Inter-American Human Rights System to document the violations of human rights of which Rubí, Marisela and 17 members of her family have been victims.”
For example, The Telegraph has reported, “On [Saturday, December 13, 2010, just days before Marisela was murdered] a lumber company belonging to Jose Monje Amparon, Escobedo’s partner, was burned down and his brother and another man were kidnapped.”
Today, El Universal reports, “Dozens of members of civil organizations joined a peaceful demonstration in which they remembered Marisela and her fight for justice for the disappearance and murder of her daughter.”
That article in El Universal adds, “Participating organizations indicated that an initial petition was made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), so that justice is done for Marisela and Rubi through international bodies since both femicides were plagued by failures of the justice bodies.”
Journalist Anabel Hernandez, who had to flee Mexico for her own safety, has written, “From 2015 to June 2019, at least 3,080 women were murdered in Mexico. According to the Mexican government, the victim rate per 100,000 in 2015 was 0.66 percent. By 2019 the rate had risen to 1.19, nearly doubling in just three years.”