Torreon, Coahuila – Silvia Ortizrepresentative of Life Group, collective dedicated to the search for missing people in La Lagunapublicly denounced that she and other members of the group were victims of attacks by Coahuila state police.
According to them, the incident occurred when Ortiz and his group were moving back from municipality of Gómez Palaciowhere authorities carry out Mass exhumations of unclaimed bodies in the pantheons of La Laguna de Durango. After going through a review filter from Gómez Palacio to Torreón, They were detained and attacked by elements of the Specialized Police of Coahuila (PEC).
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Silvia Ortiz explained: “They stopped us and were aggressive. They beat me, they beat my son. An American anthropologist was also with us, and she was also beaten. “They handcuffed us and took my cell phone away.”
The attacks occurred on the same day that, since November 6, 2023, Du2023 authorities, together with the Regional Center for Human Identification (CRIH), lThey carry out exhumations of unidentified bodies sent to common graves in pantheons in Gómez Palacio and Lerdo.
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The Vida Group has been a key promoter of these exhumation works, pressing for searches in the Laguna de Durango region and the identification of remains found in extermination zones.
Through social networks, Óscar Sánchez Viesca, Silvia Ortiz’s husband, demanded that the governor and the state prosecutor stop this type of attacks, describing the aggressors as “criminals in uniform.” He strongly called for immediate action to be taken to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
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This incident highlights the vulnerability of human rights defenders and activists who work tirelessly to address critical issues in the region, sstressing the need for immediate action and justice in cases of attacks against those seeking truth and justice for missing victims.
Originally published in The Sun of La Laguna