When Defending Nature Is Met with Imprisonment: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

Even though international human rights organisations and experts have recognised that his arrest was arbitrary and have called for his release, on 6 March 2025, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Pablo is currently held in the Villa de Etla prison in Oaxaca. Yésica Sánchez Maya, a woman human rights defender and member of the Board of Directors of Consorcio Oaxaca, a Mexican human rights organisation, has been supporting Pablo since his detention, and provides more information about this case.

Who was Pablo before his arrest, and what motivated him to act in defense of the forest and his community?

Before his arrest, Pablo was a farmer and an HRD for environmental, indigenous, and community rights. He is an indigenous Zapotec from the community of San Isidro Aloapam, Ixtlán de Juárez, Oaxaca, where he lived with his wife and children until the date of his arrest. Pablo turned 56 this year while in prison. For more than 20 years, he dedicated his life to caring for and protecting his community's natural resources, especially the forest and water, from threats of illegal deforestation. During this time, Pablo held various public positions in his community, including community police officer, member of the Drinking Water Committee, treasurer of the Road Committee, president of the Community Bus Committee and president of the Secondary School Committee. He reported illegal logging and raised awareness about environmental protection and sustainability. In retaliation, he made powerful enemies among the illegal loggers operating in the area and faced numerous criminal charges.

What circumstances led to his arrest on 15 August 2010, and why do you believe he was criminalised for his human rights work?

Back in 2000, Pablo was criminalised for the first time for his work defending land and territory. He was charged and convicted on alleged charges relating to attacks on communication routes. Pablo was a community leader in one of two indigenous communities in the area, which has a long history of conflict over resources and land control. On 18 June 2007, the historic conflict between the communities resurfaced, leading to an outbreak of violence that resulted in several deaths related to deforestation in the area. More than three years after this conflict over land and logging, on 15 August 2010, Pablo was with his family when he was arbitrarily detained by 15 men who covered their faces and carried long weapons. They attacked him and forced him into a vehicle without any explanation or showing any arrest warrant. During his detention, he was tortured. When he arrived at the Etla prison the next day, he discovered that he was being accused of a murder that occurred in 2007. However, no evidence had ever been presented to incriminate him in that homicide.

What are Pablo's current living conditions, and how has his detention affected his physical and emotional well-being, as well as that of his family and community?

The United Nations has reaffirmed that Pablo has been subjected to ill-treatment, torture and threats by prison officials since his arrest, which was in fact a kidnapping. Pablo has denounced his prison conditions and the hunger he suffers. His arbitrary detention has had a severe economic, physical and emotional impact on his family. His wife, a woman human rights defender, Yolanda Pérez Cruz, and their children were forced to flee their community due to the constant threats they received for their struggle for justice and the defence of human rights. For this reason, the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of Oaxaca approved precautionary measures for her to ensure her integrity due to the harassment she suffered. Living in the city now provides a safer environment and the possibility of visiting Pablo, but the threats continue. Pablo's detention and forced displacement have caused chronic illnesses, cultural and community uprooting to his family, as well as the need to learn Spanish and adapt to urban and mestizo life in a different cultural context.

Almost 15 years after his arbitrary arrest, what have been the main difficulties in seeking justice, and what role has his indigenous identity played in the treatment he has received from the Mexican State?  

Since his arbitrary arrest, the Zapotec defender has faced a criminalisation process characterised by violations of due process and human rights, which have been denounced at the national and international levels. In 2017, Pablo was convicted, a decision that was upheld in 2020 and then overturned by a judge who recognised that the trial was riddled with irregularities. However, after almost 15 years in prison, in March 2025, he was sentenced to 30 years.

The case has been recognised as emblematic by United Nations experts due to the seriousness of the human rights violations that have occurred, who have issued urgent calls for the defender's release. Similarly, eight years ago, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued an Opinion in which it described the detention as arbitrary and stated that "the real reason for the detention and prosecution of Mr. López Alavez is his activity as a human rights defender in his community." Pablo is the last indigenous defender in Mexico with a favourable opinion from the WGAD, who remains unjustly deprived of his liberty. His case is an example of the widespread criminalisation of human rights defenders in Mexico, particularly indigenous and environmental activists.

What message would you send to the international community to ensure justice in Pablo's case and the protection of indigenous defenders in Mexico?  

In a letter dated 2025, Pablo López asks:

“Today, I thank each and every one of you from all the national and international indigenous peoples’ and human rights organisations for your efforts to secure my release. The government of the state of Oaxaca continues to deprive me of my freedom, separated from my family since 15 August 2010, when I was detained by a group of armed and hooded men without showing an arrest warrant, to intimidate my community into stopping raising our voices in defence of nature, which year after year destroys our municipality of San Miguel Aloapam, regardless of the damage caused to the forest, destroying water sources, springs, wild animals and more. With all due respect, I request the intervention of each one of you to announce my immediate release, if I am within my rights to speak in defence of the forest"

The defence has appealed and will pursue all possible legal and political avenues to secure his release. It also demands protection for the life and safety of his partner and women human rights defender, Yolanda Pérez, a monolingual indigenous woman who was forced to become bilingual to fight for Pablo's freedom.

Join the call against Pablo's arbitrary detention and unjust sentence. Let's fight for his freedom, justice and the lands of the Indigenous peoples.