Today we received very sad news that Jyri Jaakkola, international human rights observer from Finland died with his colleague Bety Cariño Trujillo, of the Centro de Apoyo Comunitario Trabajando Unidos (CACTUS) on 27th April in Mexico, near San Juan Copala. [:]

Mr Jaakkola and his colleagues were in Mexico to monitor the human rights situation of the indigenous people and were violently attacked as they were entering the autonomous indigenous municipality of San Juan Copala. Some members of the group are missing. There are fears that they might have been captured by the para-militaries.

The Mexican authorities must fully investigate the events and bring those accountable to justice. I expect to receive full account of what led to this tragedy and demand that Mexican authorities put in place measures to prevent this from happening ever again. As the Chair of European Parliament Subcommittee, I will keep following the developments closely.

I also support the initiative to actively try to solve the conflict and to form a truth commission in Oaxaca to investigate the killings and [:]human rights violations.

I would like to express my deepest condolences to the Jaakkola and Cariño Trujillo families. At this sad time my thoughts remain with them.