Amnesty International Adopts Jailed Mexican Environmentalists as Prisoners of Conscience

Interview by Between the Lines' Melinda Tuhus.

In 1999, two Mexican farmers who had been organizing against the destruction of forests in their state of Guerrero were arrested on what their supporters say were trumped up drug charges. The men had been mobilizing communities throughout the state to protest the activities of the wood and paper industries in the region.

Allegedly under torture, the two men, Rodolfo Montiel Flores and Teodoro Cabrera Garcia, confessed and were sentenced to long prison terms. Montiel has won several awards while in jail, including the prestigious Goldman environmental prize and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights award. Last month a Mexican judge ruled against the men who had appealed their convictions.

Folabi Olagbaju, director of Amnesty International USA's Human Rights and Environmental Program. He discusses the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of Montiel and Cabrera and why Amnesty has adopted the men as prisoners of conscience(A RealAudio Version of this interview may be found At  http://www.btlonline.org) .

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