• Defender a quien defiende ~ To Defend Those Who Defend •
Defender a quien defiende (To Defend Those Who Defend) is a coalition of human rights activists, journalists, legal experts, university professors and institutes and non-governmental organizations in Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country that defends and supports the rights of activists who are themselves under threat for their work in defense of human rights in Spain.
The organization was launched in October 2014 in direct response to the July 2014 enactment by Spain’s ruling conservative Partido Popular (PP) of the country’s Ley de Seguridad Ciudadana (the Law for Citizens’ Security, also referred to as the Ley Mordaza or ‘Gag Law’), which immediately generated a climate of criminalization and repression of social protest, an increase in the violation of civil and human rights, and the constant threat of arrest and punishment of those attempting to document repression and rights abuses in an effort to defend against them.
Bringing human rights activists, academic researchers, legal experts and journalists together in one platform, Defender has worked to develop a system of early warning and mutual response for the defence of human rights and the denunciation of violations, simultaneously working to raise public awareness and influence public policy, while defending and supporting the rights of activists engaged in the defense of human rights.
As part of its work, Defender has developed and provided a downloadable form available through its website to document details of rights violations experienced by individuals. Once the denunciation is submitted online, the organisation’s activists and legal experts analyse the information and provide a response. The organization also provides training courses for individuals and groups that want to become observers of violations and be able to denounce rights abuses within the current context of the Ley Mordaza and the repressive and punitive repercussions it carries for human rights defenders.
► Learn more about Defender a quien defiende at the following links online:
► Read Progressive Spain news coverage of Defender a quien defiende, here …
Updated as of 07/2016
