XOCHITEPEC, Mor. (apro).- A federal judge ordered this afternoon that the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office deliver the investigation folder of the case of the murder of activist Samir Flores Soberanes to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), within 24 hours.
The homicide occurred on February 20, 2019 and both the family and the communicator’s colleagues assure that there has been no progress in the investigation.
Samir Flores Soberanes was a staunch opponent of the Morelos Integral Project (PIM). In his native Amilcingo, located in the municipality of Temoac, to the east of Morelos, he founded the Amilkzinco community radio station, from which he carried out educational and organizational work to deal with the thermoelectric plant and the gas pipeline that make up the megaproject promoted by the CFE.
On February 20, 2019, Samir was killed by unknown subjects outside his home in Amilcingo. However, the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office never made progress in the investigation and was always questioned by relatives and colleagues of the activist.
The Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra y el Agua Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala, also founded by the activist, directed its efforts to obtain the appeal of the case by the FGR.
The strategy that was followed was to demonstrate that Samir Flores was assassinated for his social and political activity, particularly for having carried it out as a communicator. For this reason, he got involved with the FGR’s Specialized Prosecutor for Crimes Against Freedom of Expression. On June 10, the attraction was achieved by the federal agency, but its local counterpart, with Uriel Carmona Gándara at the helm, opposed the procedure.
Throughout the month of June, the Frente de Pueblos carried out a broad campaign to collect signatures and political pressure for the FGR to take up the case. On July 4, the FGR asked a federal judge to define federal jurisdiction in the case. A date has been set for August 17.
This Thursday the hearing of the case was held at the Federal Criminal Justice Center in the municipality of Xochitepec, Morelos, in which the judge of the case reviewed the request and ordered that the investigation folder of the murder of Samir Flores be delivered to the FGR, so that the investigation can be carried out from there.
Given the decision, Juan Carlos Flores, a member of the Peoples Front in Defense of Land and Water, stated that “today there was progress because it is finally recognized that his murder was for reasons of his acting as a communicator and his relationship in the fight against PIM. The investigative actions will have to go in that direction, ”he said in a telephone interview.
