human rights defender
Kenia Inés Hernández Montalván
Actions and Campaigns
Kenia Inés Hernández Montalván
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Urgent support needed
Medical assistance
Organization affiliation
- Colectivo Libertario Zapata Vive
- Movimiento por la Libertad de Presos Políticos del Estado de Guerrero (MOLPPEG)
HRD's year of birth
1989
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- Lawyer
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Land rights
- Women's rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
Kenia Hernández is an Amuzga indigenous lawyer and defender of human rights and indegenous people. She is of Afro-Mexican descent, and is a mother and primary carer of two children.
Kenia is the coordinator of the Colectivo Libertario Zapata Vive, which promotes different forms of peaceful resistance against neoliberal development models imposed by the Mexican State. She also co-founded the Movimiento por la Libertad de Presos Políticos del Estado de Guerrero (MOLPPEG).
After learning about the inequalities in which women in her community lived, she decided to study law to support them, dedicating herself to the defence of the territory in Guerrero, defending women victims of gender violence, and supporting the cause of political prisoners.
Detained since
Oct 18, 2020
Charge(s)
- Damage to public property
- Other
Sentence
Criminalised in several cases. In two of them, she has already been sentenced to more than 21 years in prison
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Kenia Hernández reported facing restrictions in accessing healthcare in prison as well as drinking water. She has been subjected to severe isolation and detention in a location far away from her children, who were only able to visit her every six months. Kenia's correspondence has been monitored by prison authorities, with supplies and communications from judicial authorities not being delivered. She has faced restrictions on meetings with her legal defence team and on receiving visits from human rights organisations. Kenia has carried out 2 hunger strikes requesting improvements of her detention conditions.
A 2022 report published by national and international human rights organisations after visiting Kenia three times concluded that at least 13 human rights had been violated.
In a complaint submitted to the Human Rights Council in September 2024, Kenia denounced how "During the time I have been deprived of my liberty, I have been subjected to ill-treatment, discrimination, physical and psychological violence".
Latitude: 19.4243182680293
Longitude: -99.01279478754358
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean
Location of detention - City/Town
State of Mexico
Location of detention - Facility
Nezahualcóyotl Sur Prison
Any other relevant documents
Join communication, UN special procedures, AL MEX 7/2022 : https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27296
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's year of birth
- 1989
- HRD's Gender
- Woman
- Type of HRD
- Lawyer
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Land rights
- Women's rights
- Organization affiliation
- Colectivo Libertario Zapata Vive
- Movimiento por la Libertad de Presos Políticos del Estado de Guerrero (MOLPPEG)
- HRD's Picture
- HRD's bio and work
Kenia Hernández is an Amuzga indigenous lawyer and defender of human rights and indegenous people. She is of Afro-Mexican descent, and is a mother and primary carer of two children.
Kenia is the coordinator of the Colectivo Libertario Zapata Vive, which promotes different forms of peaceful resistance against neoliberal development models imposed by the Mexican State. She also co-founded the Movimiento por la Libertad de Presos Políticos del Estado de Guerrero (MOLPPEG).
After learning about the inequalities in which women in her community lived, she decided to study law to support them, dedicating herself to the defence of the territory in Guerrero, defending women victims of gender violence, and supporting the cause of political prisoners.
- HRD's geographical origin
- Urban
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean
- Location of detention - City/Town
- State of Mexico
- Location of detention - Facility
- Nezahualcóyotl Sur Prison
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 19.4243182680293
Longitude: -99.01279478754358
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Oct 18, 2020
- Current Status
- In prison (sentenced)
- Charge(s)
- Damage to public property
- Other
- Sentence
Criminalised in several cases. In two of them, she has already been sentenced to more than 21 years in prison
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Kenia Hernández reported facing restrictions in accessing healthcare in prison as well as drinking water. She has been subjected to severe isolation and detention in a location far away from her children, who were only able to visit her every six months. Kenia's correspondence has been monitored by prison authorities, with supplies and communications from judicial authorities not being delivered. She has faced restrictions on meetings with her legal defence team and on receiving visits from human rights organisations. Kenia has carried out 2 hunger strikes requesting improvements of her detention conditions.
A 2022 report published by national and international human rights organisations after visiting Kenia three times concluded that at least 13 human rights had been violated.
In a complaint submitted to the Human Rights Council in September 2024, Kenia denounced how "During the time I have been deprived of my liberty, I have been subjected to ill-treatment, discrimination, physical and psychological violence".
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Urgent support needed
Medical assistance
- Any other relevant documents
Join communication, UN special procedures, AL MEX 7/2022 : https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27296
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
Supporting files
sorted by
Date added
4 relationships, 3 entities