Mexican
Environmentalists Convicted of False Charges The conviction of Montiel and Cabrera is unjust and is directly linked to their commitment to protect their forests. The Goldman Environmental Foundation calls on President-Elect Vicente Fox to prove his commitment to human rights and environmental protection by repealing the conviction of these men immediately upon assuming office," said Richard N. Goldman, president of the Goldman Environmental Prize. Montiel, one of the founding members of the Organization of Campesino Environmentalists of the Sierra de Petatlan and Coyuca de Catalan, worked to organize farmers to oppose the rampant and possibly illegal logging in the mountains in Guerrero, Mexico. On May 2, 1999, members of the 40th Infantry Battalion of the Mexican Army arrested Montiel and Cabrera. During the raid, the soldiers shot and killed Salomi Sanchez Ortiz, a local farmer. On July 14, Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights, a governmental organization, acknowledged that Montiel and Cabrera had been illegally detained and tortured by members of the Mexican Army. The report also rejected the allegation that the two men were carrying weapons at the time of their arrest. Forensic doctors working for the Danish section of Physicians for Human Rights confirmed the torture after examining Montiel and Cabrera, and concluded that the physical signs and symptoms coincide conclusively with the timing and methods of torture previously described by the two activists.."
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