Tlapa, Guerrero, Mexico, on 27^th October 2008. Tlachinollan reports that the government of Guerrero refused to hold talks with the German Organisation for Human Rights in Mexico; a civil organisation that wanted to discuss the case of the five Me’phaa indigenous men imprisoned in Ayutla jail having been accused of the murder of an Army informer.

A delegation from the German organisation, composed of two members, is carrying out a week’s visit to Guerrero (22nd to 29th October) to find out about the situation of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights in the state.

As part of their observations that began in Petatlán and finish on Wednesday in Tlapa, the German NGO sent two letters on 16^th October requesting an audience with Alfredo Sánchez Sánchez, head of the Mixed First Instance Court in Ayutla and Roberto Hernández Benítez, the prison director, for Monday 27^th October.

The five human rights defenders that belong to the Indigenous Me’phaa People’s Organisation (Organización del Pueblo Indígena Me´phaa, OPIM) have been imprisoned in Ayutla jail since 17^th April, after being arrested at a police-military checkpoint. On 27^th June the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) asked the Mexican government to extend cautionary measures to the accused indigenous men. On 7^th July the accused requested an appeal before a federal judge against the preliminary detention order that was issued against them on 23^rd April. On 15^th October they were all granted protection by the federal justice system, except for Raúl Hernández Abundio. Currently the four that won the appeal are awaiting release.

The German Organisation was interested in speaking to the Mixed judge, Alfredo Sánchez Sánchez, in order to demand that Raúl Hernández Abundio be given an impartial, independent and free trial, once his four colleagues have been released (Manuel Cruz Victoriano, Orlando Manzanarez Lorenzo, Natalio Ortega Cruz y Romualdo Santiago).

They planned to discuss the physical integrity and health of the detainees during their stay in prison with the director Roberto Hernández.

However, the two officials refused to establish any form of dialogue with the members of the German Organisation. Judge Alfredo Sánchez Sánchez, responded in writing that he could not receive the delegation because 27^th October is a public holiday and that he would be in Chilpancingo. The prison director, Roberto Hernández Benítez, cancelled at the last minute the meeting he had scheduled for 10am Monday morning.

The German Organisation was greeted with the same response from the government Home Secretary, Guillermo Ramírez Ramos, who refused to arrange a meeting arguing that today, Monday 27^th, is a public holiday. However, when he was asked to rearrange the potential meeting for Tuesday, he simply did not reply.

At Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre we believe that the Guerrero government’s attitude is a serious problem and we maintain that once again there is closure towards dialogue in the state with organisations that defend human rights such as the German Organisation.

The refusal of Zeferino Torreblanca Galindo’s government to receive the German Organisation demonstrates its lack of commitment towards human rights and supports the denunciations made by the Guerrero Network of Civil Human Rights Organisations in their audience with the IACHR last Wednesday 22nd, in the sense that there is no willingness to open a dialogue; rather, the government is committed to the criminalisation of social protest.