URGENT ACTION ALERT

6 JAN 2006

Demand Immediate Release of Martin Barrios Hernández

Falsely accused of attempting to blackmail a maquila owner, Mexican human rights activist Martin Barrios Hernández is being held in a Puebla state prison, locked up in a cell.

Your support is urgently needed to obtain the immediate release of this well-respected defender of the rights of maquila workers and indigenous communities in the Tehuacan Valley region of the Mexican state of Puebla.

Update, Jan 12, 2006

Mexican Activist Martin Barrios Released!

We are pleased to report that on Thursday, January 12 Martin Amaru Barrios Hernandez was released from jail without charge. Barrios, president of the Mexican Human and Labour Rights Commission of the Tehuacan Valley, had been falsely accused of blackmailing a factory owner.

Read more >>

Martin's arrest on December 29

CAMPAIGN UPDATE / URGENT ACTION ALERT*

PUEBLA, MEXICO: On January 4, after hearing testimony from numerous eye witnesses and viewing a video conclusively proving that Mexican human rights activist Martin Barrios Hernandez was in another town attending a meeting at a church when he was alleged to have entered the house of maquila owner Lucio Gil Zarate in Tehuacan and attempted to blackmail him, judge Horacio Bravo Negrete ruled that there was sufficient evidence to bring Barrios to trial.

Maquila workers protesting in front of the "Cereso de Puebla" where Martin is being detained (January 4)

The ruling came despite the fact that the accusers, Gil and his relatives, did not appear at the hearing in the capital city of Puebla to give testimony.

After ruling against Barrios, the judge declared himself incompetent to hear the trial and ordered that Barrios be transported from Puebla where he was being held in a state prison back to Tehuacan to face trial. According to Barrios, this unusual ruling is an attempt by the state governor to rid himself of this embarrassing case. Because of the considerable political influence of maquila owners in Tehuacan, Barrios is appealing the ruling

Martin on January 4, 2006

On January 3, 15 former workers from Gil’s Calidad en Confecciones factory attended Barrios’ hearing. All verified that neither Martín, nor any other person involved in a protest outside Gil’s house threatened Gil at any time. According to Barrios, he has never attempted to blackmail anyone and has never set foot in Gil’s house.

As president of the Human and Labour Rights Commission of the Tehuacan Valley, Barrios had been assisting the workers in legal challenges concerning labour rights abuses at Gil’s Calidad en Confecciones factory and to gain their legal severance pay.

In an interview with La Jornada del Oriente, former employee Karina Castillo Mendoza claimed that workers at the factory were fined 10% of their salary for failing to tie their shoes, arriving a minute late, or failing to straighten up worktables. According to Castillo Mendoza, her pay was cut from 950 pesos/week to 500 pesos, and then a further 132 pesos were docked from her pay. As a result, she only earned 368 pesos (Can $40) a week, 60% less than her agreed upon wage. She also charged the company with using child labour, and of having the underage workers hide whenever there was a factory inspection.

The Barrios case is getting considerable media attention in Mexico, and human rights, indigenous, campesino and independent trade union organizations and political parties are rallying to his defence. Some organizations have declared Barrios a political prisoner. Meanwhile, maquila owners and their industry association in the Tehuacan region are increasing their public attacks against Barrios and the Commission, accusing them of causing the closure of factories and discouraging investment in the region’s garment export industry.

In this polarized situation, international support for Barrios and the Commission is urgently needed. If Barrios is convicted on the criminal charge of blackmail, he could face from 2-10 years in prison. International solidarity is also needed to ensure his physical safety, whether or not he is released from prison. Two years ago, Barrios was assaulted and beaten by unknown assailants who then escaped in an unmarked car. Two years later, nothing has been done to bring those responsible to justice.

*For latest news, photos and press articles visit www.maquilasolidarity.org in English and Spanish*

Update, Jan 12, 2006

Mexican Activist Martin Barrios Released!

We are pleased to report that on Thursday, January 12 Martin Amaru Barrios Hernandez was released from jail without charge. Barrios, president of the Mexican Human and Labour Rights Commission of the Tehuacan Valley, had been falsely accused of blackmailing a factory owner.

Read more >>

REQUESTED ACTION:

If you haven’t already sent a protest letter to the Governor of the State of Puebla, please do so today. Please note that we are now also requesting that you send a copy of your letter to the Puebla State Attorney General and to Vicente Fox, President of the Republic of Mexico.

Please also send a copy of your letter to MSN at: info@ maquilasolidarity.org

* BELOW YOU’LL FIND A SPANISH LETTER TO SEND TO THE GOVERNOR.
English Translation follows.

Mario Marín Torres, Gobernador del Estado de Puebla
gobernador@puebla.gob.mx

Cc. Javier López Zavala, Secretario de Gobernación del Estado de Puebla
e-mail: javier.lopez.zavala@puebla.gob.mx

Cc. Vicente Fox, Presidente de la República de México
e-mail: vicentefox@presidencia.gob.mx

Estimado Gobernador Marín Torres:

El motivo de la presente es instar a que su gobierno tome las medidas necesarias y urgentes para asegurar que Martín Barrios Hernández, presidente de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos y Laborales del Valle de Tehuacán, quien está injustamente preso, sea liberado en forma inmediata.

Quisiera instarle a que:

• Asegure la libertad inmediata de Martín Barrios Hernández,

• Tome las medidas necesarias para asegurar la integridad física de Martín Barrios Hernández.

• Comprometa a su gobierno a cooperar plenamente con una investigación independiente en relación a estas injustas acusaciones y su arresto y confinación inapropiados, y

• Dé los pasos necesarios para que los 163 trabajadores despedidos injustamente por el propietario de la maquiladora, Lucio Gil Zárate, reciban el pago de sus liquidaciones que les corresponde.

Atentamente

ENGLISH VERSION

Dear Governor:

I am writing to urge your government to take immediate action to ensure that Martín Barrios Hernández, the president of the Comision de Derechos Humanos y Laborales del Valle de Tehuacán, who is being unjustly detained, is released without further delay.

I urge you to do the following:

• Ensure the immediate release of Martín Barrios Hernández;

• Take appropriate steps to ensure respect for Martín Barrios’ physical integrity;

• Commit your government to fully cooperate with an independent investigation regarding these false charges and his improper arrest and imprisonment; and

• Take appropriate steps to ensure that the 163 workers unjustly fired by maquila owner, Lucio Gil Zarate, receive their lawful severance pay.

Yours truly,

On December 29, Martin Barrios Hernández, President of the Mexican Human and Labour Rights Commission of the Tehuacan Valley, was arrested by the intelligence division of the Puebla state police and transported from his home city of Tehuacan to the state capital of Puebla where he is being held in state prison. The arrest comes exactly two years after Barrios was kidnapped and beaten by unknown assailants.

Barrios is accused of blackmail, based on a charge filed by Tehuacan maquila owner Lucio Gil Zarate. In Mexico, there is no possibility of posting bail when facing blackmail charges, and a guilty verdict could result in a 2-10 year prison term.

According to Barrios, the charge is completely groundless, since he was attending an assembly at a local church at the time and date he was alleged to have attempted to blackmail Mr. Gil. Barrios’ only contact with Mr. Gil’s company has been in carrying out his responsibilities as a human rights advocate in regards to the severance pay owed to 163 workers unjustly fired by Mr. Gil.

Over the past few months, the Commission has been providing advice and assistance to workers employed at the Calidad de Confexiones maquila, which is owned by Mr. Gil. In early November, the Commission assisted workers in filing a complaint before the local Conciliation and Arbitration Board, charging the employer with worker rights violations. On November 10, Gil signed an agreement to resolve the outstanding issues, but, according to the Commission, has failed to comply with the agreement. On November 22, Gil fired all 163 workers who had been part of the original complaint.

The workers responded to the firings by staging peaceful protests outside the local offices of the Conciliation and Arbitration Board, the FROC-CROC (an “official” union that has failed to defend the workers’ rights), and Mr. Gil’s home, demanding the severance pay they were owned.

Despite the fact that the blackmail charge against Barrios was filed on December 16, he was not informed of the charges until December 29 when he was picked up by the police without warning outside his home as he was going to assist a maquila worker.

The charge against Martin was filed on the same day as independent journalist, Lydia Cacho, was arrested by Puebla state police in Cancun and transported to Puebla on defamation charges brought by maquila owner Kamil Nacif, Mexico’s denim king concerning allegations that he was involved in a child prostitution ring. The improper out-of-state arrest has been widely condemned by human rights and journalists’ organizations. Barrios has been publicly supporting Cacho.

Gil is a subcontractor for AZT, an apparel company in which Nacif is a part owner. Nacif is also a part owner of in the Tarrant Apparel Group, which closed its factories in 2003 after workers tried to organize an independent union at the Tarrant Ajalpan factory. The Commission provided advice and support to Tarrant workers who lost their jobs as a result of the factory closures. The US and Canadian labour ministries and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have issued reports documenting violations of worker rights in the Nacif-owned factory.

According to the Commission, Barrios’ arrest is part of an ongoing campaign by maquila owners in the Tehuacan region to discredit and obstruct the work of the Commission. In recent months, maquila owners in Tehuacan have been making unsubstantiated public accusations against Barrios and the Commission, including a paid ad published in local newspapers, charging them with organizing protests and strikes that discourage foreign investment in order to blackmail the owners.

Barrios, who is also an advisor to the Mexican Federal Electoral Institute in Tehuacan, is internationally known as a defender of worker, indigenous and environmental rights in Tehuacan, one of Mexico’s major apparel producing regions. Last year the Commission was awarded the prestigious Tata Vasco human rights award by Mexico’s Jesuit universities.

Barrios is also a co-author of “Tehuacan: Blue Jeans, Blue Waters and Worker Right,” a joint publication of the Commission and MSN documenting environmental and worker rights violations in Tehuacan’s garment maquila industry.

Maquila Solidarity Network / Ethical Trading Action Group
606 Shaw Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6G 3L6
416-532-8584 (phone) | 416-532-7688 (fax)
info@maquilasolidarity.org
www.maquilasolidarity.org