Mexico: The recent closure of the federal cases against human rights defender Kenia Hernández opens an opportunity to deliver justice and secure her release
The undersigned organisations call for a solution for the imprisonment of Kenia Inés Hernández Montalván, an amuzga indigenous woman and human rights defender who has been detained since October 2020.
The human rights defender has faced 10 criminal cases against her since 2010, of which only two remain open. The other eight cases, all federal, have been closed. She currently faces 21 years in prison due to the two criminal cases still pending in the state of Mexico. Her defence team has filed appeals for judicial protection against these two sentences, which are currently being processed by the courts of the Second Circuit in criminal matters.
Kenia Hernández is a human rights defender whose work has focused on defending the rights of indigenous peoples, women, land and territory, including supporting communities in the defence of their rights. Prior to her arrest, she worked with various social movements in the State of Guerrero as a leader of the Colectivo Libertario Zapata Vive and a member of the Movimiento por la Libertad de los Presos Políticos del Estado de Guerrero (Movement for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in the State of Guerrero), including supporting communities and individuals affected by serious human rights violations.
Various international bodies, international organisations and European and Mexican MEPs have expressed concern over the constant irregularities that have marked the case, including the denial of her right to attend hearings in person, the right to interpretation in the amuzgo language, and the repeated denial of visits from her family, legal team and the organisations supporting her. The continuous opening of investigations and proceedings with the aim of keeping her in detention over the years is widely documented. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have expressed their concern regarding the sentences against Kenia.
The undersigned organisations reaffirm that the judiciary now has the opportunity to deliver justice on this case. Following the closure of the federal cases, we call for the resolution of the direct appeals filed on behalf of Kenia Hernández in the two local cases against herin the state of Mexico. We call Mexican authorities to apply international human rights standards regarding human rights defenders and the legitimate right to peaceful protest. To take a decision in line with these standards would be consistent with the State’s obligation to guarantee effective judicial protection, to prevent violations of fundamental rights, and to prevent the further criminalisation of an indigenous human rights defender, her human rights work and the exercise of social protest.,.
Kenia’s case is considered emblematic, as it reflects the instrumentalisation of the justice system to limit her human rights work. Furthermore, national and international organisations have highlighted it as an illustrative case of the alarming pattern of arbitrary detention, prolonged pre-trial detention, as well as unjust, excessive and disproportionate custodial sentences against indigenous leaders in Mexico, a pattern that has also been echoed by the United Nations.
As the two pending cases are being resolved, Kenia Hernández remains in detention, facing violations of due process and of her rights as an amuzga indigenous woman and human rights defender. Among the violations she continues facing is the limitation of communication with her family, particularly her children, due to financial constraints and distance; she can only afford a few minutes of telephone calls per day, and her children are only able to visit her every two or three months. Despite these conditions, her work in defence of human rights has remained unwavering even in detention.
In 2024, she was transferred from a maximum-security prison to a local facility in the state of Mexico, where illegal practices by staff were uncovered. This led to internal changes but also resulted in reprisals and further attacks, leading to the defender’s transfer to Tepozanes, Nezahualcóyotl Sur, where she continued to organise with other women. Three months after her arrival, she set up the “Tejedoras de Libertad” (Weavers of Freedom) cooperative, which involves dozens of inmates who produce embroidery and textiles based on ancestral knowledge to generate employment, strengthen their mental health, meet basic needs and communicate with their children. This collective effort has been recognised with the allocation of a specific space for the cooperative due to its contribution to coexistence and social reintegration, with a focus on human rights and solidarity.
Kenia Hernández’s situation must be analysed in the light of the right to defend human rights and the right to peaceful protest. Her case as an indigenous women’s rights defender implies a reinforced duty of protection, including at the very least the non-obstruction of her defence and ensuring she can carry out her work as a defender without reprisals. The harm caused by her unjust imprisonment has not only affected the women human rights defender but, over more than 2,000 days, it has extended to her children, her family, her community and the movements of which she is part of. The closure of the federal brings light for an end to the serious violations and injustice faced by Kenia.
To put an end to the serious violations against Kenia Hernández, which not only affect her but also stigmatise the defence of human rights and erode the full exercise of her community’s human rights, the undersigned organisations make the following calls:
To the Second Circuit’s criminal justice system to rule on the direct constitutional appeals filed on behalf of Kenia Hernández in the two local cases in the state of Mexico, taking into account international human rights standards regarding human rights defenders and the legitimate right to exercise peaceful protest;
To the authorities of the State of Mexico to recognise the human rights defence work of Kenia Hernández, particularly her recognition as an indigenous women’s rights defender, as some representatives of the Legislative Branch have already done;
To the authorities of the State of Mexico to fulfil their reinforced obligation regarding the protection of human rights defenders, in particular to prevent obstacles to the exercise of human rights defence and the right to peaceful protest, creating an environment free from any form of aggression against human rights defenders in Mexico.
The undersigned organisations reiterate their solidarity with Kenia Hernández, her family, her community and the organisations supporting her case. In a regional context marked by the growing criminalisation of those who defend rights, demanding justice for Kenia is also a vindication of the right to defend rights.
Signed by:
- ACAT France
- Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL)
- CIVICUS: Worl Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Front Line Defenders
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
