Dear Friend,

The Human Rights Center Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas (Frayba) has alerted Grassroots International that two of its members have been kidnapped. On April 12th, Lázaro Sánchez Gutiérrez and Victórico Gálvez Pérez were arbitrarily detained while traveling to a meeting in Palenque, Chiapas, and have not been heard from since.

Frayba is our grantee and political ally supporting the defense of the Indigenous Autonomous Communities in Chiapas, Mexico. We stand with Frayba and with the families and communities of the detained activists in condemning this act of aggression and calling for their immediate release.

Freyba notes that this is not an isolated act but has happened in an environment of criminalization of human rights defenders in Mexico.

Join us in responding to Freyba’s call for international solidarity. Please sign and share this petition to bring Lázaro and Victórico to safety and to send a message that attacks against human rights defenders will not be tolerated.

In solidarity, Chung-Wha Hong Executive Director