Dora Lilia Roblero (center), director of the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights (Frayba). Photo: Frayba
Mexico City. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, and other experts from the United Nations (UN) expressed their concern that “no significant progress has been made” in the investigation into the threats and acts of intimidation suffered by Dora Roblero, director of the Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Center for Human Rights Center (Frayba), her team, and family members.
They emphasized that while the human rights defender was registered this month with the Protection Mechanism, the same did not happen for most members of her organization.
Likewise, the experts made public the communication they sent last September to the Mexican government regarding the break-in at Roblero’s home on July 22nd, 2025, in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, the attack against her brother, and acts of intimidation against members of the Frayba Human Rights Center.
In the document, they stated that since December 2024, the organization’s director had received several threatening calls from an unknown person, which continued in the following months. Furthermore, on August 5th, 2025, her brother was attacked with a machete at his home.
In addition, during the last four months of 2024, various incidents occurred against members of her team, including evidence that unknown individuals entered her residence in her absence and multiple surveillance operations, mostly by individuals posing as civilians, but also by agents of the state and federal governments.
They also indicated that in the first half of 2025, the Frayba Human Rights Center (CDH Frayba) and its members were subjected to stigmatization, intimidation, and threats on social media.
They further reported threats against Josefine Sjöberg, coordinator of the Swedish Movement for Reconciliation (SweFOR) team, since August 2025. Lawlor, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Gina Romero; and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Morris Tidball-Binz, emphasized that these alleged attacks appeared to be directed at Frayba with the purpose of intimidating them for their “peaceful and legitimate” human rights advocacy activities in Chiapas.
In its response to the rapporteurs’ communication last November, the Mexican government limited itself to mentioning the security actions it has carried out together with the Chiapas authorities, such as continuous surveillance, the formation of an inter-institutional team to provide comprehensive care to the defender, preventive patrols, interviews and the process to become part of the Protection Mechanism.
Original article by Jessica Xantomilla and Jared Laureles, La Jornada, January 22nd, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.