Salvador Leyva Morelos Zaragoza

Cases
Case status
Unknown
Location of case in SG report
2022-047-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2022
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 23.634501

Longitude: -102.552784

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Mexico
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
Dates of prior UN action
17 March 2022,
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Male
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

public officials from the Federal Public Defence Office. All three public officials assumed within their mandate the legal defence and representation of Ms. Brenda Quevedo before national and international entities, including the WGAD.

Type of rights defended
  • Civil/political rights
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
Yes
Reported trigger of reprisal

legal defence and representation of Ms. Brenda Quevedo before national and international entities, including the WGAD.

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Special Procedures: thematic
Dates of engagement
October 2020-April 2021
Type of attempted engagement
  • Submission of information to UN
  • UN raised case of person/organization
Dates of mentioned reprisals
12 February 2022, 15-16 February 2022
Location of mentioned reprisals
Mexico
Reprisal information
  1. On 17 March 2022, mandate-holders addressed allegations of criminal investigations and other acts of intimidation and reprisal for cooperation with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) against Mr. Salvador Leyva Morelos Zaragoza, Ms. Verónica Jazmín Berber Calle and Ms. Elvira Claudia Mejía Hernández, public officials from the Federal Public Defence Office (MEX 4/2022). All three public officials assumed within their mandate the legal defence and representation of Ms. Brenda Quevedo before national and international entities, including the WGAD. In August 2020, the WGAD adopted Opinion 45/2020 according to which Ms. Quevedo had been arbitrarily detained since 2009. In October 2021, the WGAD welcomed the Government of Mexico’s statement that it would implement its Opinion.
  2. Between October 2020 and April 2021, Ms. Quevedo’s defence brought a series of legal actions at the national level demanding the implementation of the WGAD’s recommendations. Reportedly, as a result of these actions, the Attorney General’s Office has initiated three investigations against the defence team. On 12 February 2022, Mr. Morelos Zaragoza’s home was searched in his absence and reportedly without prior notice, identification of the authors, or production of a search warrant. On 15 and 16 February 2022, at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Ms. Quevedo’s legal defence team presented itself before the Public Prosecutor and requested access to the investigation file (MEX 4/2022).
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
  • Property damage/raid/search/confiscation
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
No
Government response dates
29 June 2022
Government response content

On 29 June 2022, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report clarifying that there are no records on the alleged investigations against Mr. Salvador Leyva Morelos Zaragoza, Ms. Verónica Jazmín Berber Calle and Ms. Elvira Claudia Mejía Hernández by the Attorney General’s Office.

Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
0