Digna Ochoa y Placido, a Mexican lawyer who represented high-profile human rights
cases was found on Friday, October 19, 2001 shot to death. Ochoa had received numerous
death threats over the last several years and had also been kidnapped and tortured. In
1999 Amnesty International and the American Bar Association had awarded Ochoa for her
work. Daniel Wilkinson, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in New York, said ``She broke
ground on using the Mexican legal system for defending human rights victims.'' In light of
the murder, many human rights organizations are questioning President Vicente Fox's
commitment to furthering the protection of human rights in Mexico.
News Stories:
"El apoyo en las
investigaciones sobre la muerte de Digna Ochoa"
La Jornada, (Mexico), October 22, 2001
"Mexican Human Rights Lawyer Is Killed"
The New York Times, (need registration) October 22, 2001
"Human Rights Lawyer Shot Dead in Mexico"
The Washington Post, October 22, 2001
"Mexico Human Rights Lawyer Killed"
Associated Press, October 22, 2001