8
“the alleged attacks against indigenous defenders, even against the beneficiaries of the
precautionary measures, have increased in the last months". The Court notes that during
the first months of 2009, many acts of threats, surveillance, telephone interceptions, among
other things, occurred regarding the beneficiaries of the precautionary measures as well as
other persons connected to them, facts that seem to be related to their role in the defense
of indigenous rights and to the complaints for human rights violations filed by said persons.
Moreover, the Court observes the seriousness of the information provided for by the
Commission about the alleged forced disappearance and subsequent discovery of the bodies
of Mr. Raúl Lucas Lucía and Manuel Ponce Rosas (supra Having Seen clause 2(f)), leaders of
an organization of Guerrero engaged in the defense of indigenous rights, who, according to
what was informed, would work in activities together with the beneficiaries of the
precautionary measures ordered by the Commission.
9.
That the Court takes note of what was informed by the State, the representatives
and the Inter-American Commission in relation to the meetings held on April 3, 16 and 23,
2009 between the State’s officers and the representatives.
10.
That the Court notes that the meeting of April 16, 2009 was held in order to jointly
agree on the implementation of the measures stipulated in the Order of the Court's
President of April 9, 2009 and, among other aspects, the parties agreed to: i) review the
progress of the agreements contained in the last minutes of the meeting of April 3, 2009; ii)
analyze in the next meeting, the progress made in the investigation into the murder of
Lorenzo Fernández Ortega; iii) deliver a copy of the official letter by means of which the
Government Secretariat of Guerrero requested the President of the Superior Tribunal of
Justice of such entity to carry out a meeting with the beneficiaries and agree on new actions
for that meeting to take place; iv) repeat their commitment to deliver and install
communication equiptments; v) deliver the beneficiaries documents vouching for the
provision of food, medicine and water to one of the beneficiaries, inmate in a detention
center of Ayutla de los Libres, as well as the copy of a report presented by the General
Director of the Penitentiary System before the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights
of Guerrero; vi) delivery of a simple copy of all and each of the record that form part of the
preliminary inquiry conducted by the Attorney General’s Office of Guerrero for the crime of
threats against Obtilia Eugenio Manuel, once said person renders her statement and vii)
convene the beneficiaries, within a maximum term of five days, to give a precise response
to the proposal of protective measures requested by them in the brief of April 16, 2009
presented in the meeting.
11.
That in the brief of comments, the Commission referred to the meeting of April 16,
2009 and, in summary, expressed its concern about the fact that the “State has not only
failed to implement the measure to protect the beneficiaries of the urgent measures, but
also it has failed to fully comply with the agreements entered into on April 3, 2009. By
postponing protecting the beneficiaries, the beneficiaries continue to be in the same
situation of extreme gravity, urgency and imminent damage they were in the past, and the
State keeps failing to adopt the measures necessary to change that situation”. The
Commission requested the Court to ratify the decision of the President of April 9, 2009.
12.
That the representatives provided more information on the facts that gave rise to the
request for provisional measures and stated their opinion about the protective measures
they requested to the State at that moment, and about the meeting of April 16, 2009. In
this regard, they pointed out that:
a) In relation to the precautionary measures MC 06-05 ordered in favor of Obtilia
Eugenio Manuel and her family, the petitioners have requested the State specific