Nearly two weeks after Oaxaca human rights lawyer Sandra Domínguez went missing, state authorities say they have expanded their search for the feminist activist in response to an appeal from the U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED).
Domínguez — a prominent defender of the Mixe Indigenous peoples native to Oaxaca’s eastern highlands — has been missing since Oct. 4. Colleagues say Domínguez regularly received threats related to her work.
Domínguez’s disappearance nearly two weeks ago has prompted video appeals, demonstrations, and an appeal from the U.N.’s Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
Domínguez, herself of Mixe descent, was last seen with her husband, Alexander Hernández, in a town in northeastern Oaxaca. Family members reported their disappearance on Oct. 8.
On Tuesday, the CED issued a statement urging officials to establish a comprehensive search strategy that includes a plan of action and a timeline to be completed by Oct. 29 and that keeps the missing activist’s family members fully informed.
Shortly thereafter, state authorities announced they had expanded their search into central Oaxaca, on the opposite side of the Sierra Madre mountains from where the couple was last seen. The couple’s car, however, was found in the neighboring state of Veracruz, 68 kilometers east of their last known location.
The couple’s phones were also detected in Veracruz before going dead.
On Monday, families, friends and colleagues demanded that Domínguez’s activist work in Oaxaca and the threats she received be treated as the primary line of investigation, according to the online news site Animal Político.
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Mexico: Search intensifies for Oaxaca activist who fought against gender violence
