Help Juarez Femicides Mothers Take their Case to Inter-American Human Rights Court

From Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez:

Three of the cotton field murder cases are going in front of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights April 26, 28 and 29th. The lawyers that are arguing this case have been able to raise airfare for two of the mothers, who will travel to Santiago, Chile, to testify. However, both Irma Monreal and Josefina Gonzalez will need money for expenses.

Below is a request from Cecilia Balli. cecilia_balli[at]yahoo.com . We request, due to the short time left, that if you can help, you communicate directly with her. Also below is a message from Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa who have been assisting with this case.

I'm writing you because I received a call from Irma Monreal on Thursday. As you may know, she, Josefina Gonzalez, and Benita Monarrez will be taking their daughters' cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights at the end of this month. Josefina and Irma will be able to attend the hearing in Santiago, Chile, with the help of the human rights attorneys in Mexico City who are pressing their case. The attorneys have found the funds to pay for the two mothers' plane tickets, but they have asked the women to bring their own money for meals and other daily expenses. I saw Irma and her family in January, and I know they are hurting financially because her daughter, son, and daughter-and-law have all been laid off in recent months. She has asked for help in raising a bit of funds; I think she would probably need a few hundred dollars.

If you can help directly or can think of any potential donors, please let me know.

From Malu of Nuestras Hijas (partial translation from Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez):

The lawyers for Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, Lic. David Peña and Lic. Karla Micheel Salas, members of the National Association for Democratic Lawyers, have coordinated a litigation team in the case known as the cotton field case. This case will be argued in front of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (this is part of the UN system and Mexico is a signatory to the treaty) over the lack of investigations and the absence of response by the Mexican government according to their obligations since the case was submitted to the court in 2007. Oral arguments will take place in front of the court on April 26, 28 and 29 in Santiago Chile.

This case is a key case in the femicides in Juarez since 8 bodies were found in the cotton field with marks of torture and rape. This is the first case to come [before the court] from Juarez and is the first case of femicide in all of Latin America. (the previous case is from Chihuahua and the Mexican government lost at every stage of the process, which continues).