After demanding justice for nine years, Valentina Rosendo Cantú and Inés Fernández Ortega are one step closer to achieving their goal.

The cases of the two indigenous Me’phaa women from Guerrero State, Mexico, who were raped by soldiers in 2002, have finally been handed over to the civilian justice system.

Until now, the cases have been languishing within the military justice system, despite the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) repeatedly ruling that human rights violations committed by members of the Mexican armed forces should not be tried in military courts.

The move comes after last month’s Supreme Court declaration that the IACtHR ruling must be applied without exception.

The Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre, whose lawyers have been representing Inés and Valentina, says the nation’s Attorney General is now obliged to prosecute the soldiers responsible for the assaults, who have been already been identified by the two women.

During their struggle for justice, Inés, Valentina, their lawyers, families and supporters, including in the Organisation of Indigenous Me’Phaa People (OPIM), have been under constant threat, as those who oppose their mission seek to intimidate them into silence.

Due to the level of threat against them, PBI continues to provide protective accompaniment to Tlachinollan’s lawyers, Inés, Valentina, and OPIM.

<media 7929>Tlachinollan press release about the transfer of the case to civilian jurisdiction</media> (pdf)