Killing of lawyer Isaac Medardo Herrera
Mexico
On 23 March 2020, environmental lawyer Isaac Medardo Herrera was killed in front of his house. The killing was condemned by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico.
According to our information, on Monday 23 March 2020, Isaac Medardo Herrera was shot in front of his house. The murders knocked on the door, shot Isaac Medardo Herrera and fled the scene afterwards.
At the moment of the murder, Isaac Medardo Herrera was working on a case concerning environmentally woodland area near Jiutepec. Herrera was defending this tract the past four years against housing development considering the area was supposed to be used as a nature reserve.
The Mexican Center for Environmental Rights reported that 15 land defenders were killed in Mexico in 2019. Furthermore, Jesús Peña, the deputy representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico condemned the killing of lawyer Herrera, and stated that “people who defend the environment must receive the support of all of society and attacks against them, such as the murder of Mr. Herrera Avilés, must be investigated quickly and effectively”.
Lawyers for Lawyers will continue to look into the situation of lawyers in Mexico and calls on the Mexican authorities to to carry out a thorough and transparent investigation into the killing of Isaac Medardo Herrera.