Amuzga woman defender Kenia Hernández, who has been unjustly imprisoned and criminalized since October 2020 for defending human rights and exercising her right to protest, could once again face prosecution for a federal charge of which she had been acquitted after the 3 June granting of an appeal filed by Caminos y Puentes Federales (CAPUFE). The appeal challenged the court ruling regarding federal criminal case No. 203/2024, linked to Guanajuato, in which the court decided not to indict the woman defender, finding that there was no evidence that she had committed any crime. Furthermore, the judge recognized in the ruling that Kenia Hernández was a social leader and woman human rights defender, and warned that prosecuting her would amount to criminalizing her human rights defense work. The ruling on the appeal orders a reversal of the decision to dismiss the case and a restart of the proceedings.

This decision means that Kenia will again have to face a preliminary hearing in the case and risks being indicted once more on federal charges. In this regard, it is worth noting that in April 2026, the woman defender was cleared of the eight federal charges against her; in five of them, she was exempted from serving a sentence after signing and fulfilling a restitution agreement with CAPUFE; and in the three cases from Guanajuato – which the judge consolidated into a single case (2023/2024) – the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the charges. This left just two state-level cases pending in the state of Mexico. 

This October will mark six years since Kenia’s unjust imprisonment. As we and other organizations have been denouncing, throughout this entire time, she has faced a systematic pattern of infringements and violations of her rights. Now, when the possibility of her release is closer than ever, the reinstatement of this federal case against her is a heavy blow to her, prolonging the injustice, suffering, and uncertainty for the woman defender and her family. 

During all this time, many organizations inside and outside the country have expressed their support and solidarity with Kenia. Last April, Thirty Mexican and European women lawmakers from left-wing parties demanded her immediate release. For the network supporting Kenia, the acknowledgement by the judge who acquitted her of the charges they are now attempting to reopen against her is clear:  Kenia is a social leader and woman human rights defender, and subjecting her to legal proceedings amounts to criminalizing her for her work. 

The National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico and IM-Defensoras embrace our compañera Kenia Hernández and her family, and we call on the justice system not to prosecute her again for a case from which she has already been exonerated by the judge on the basis of well-established and sufficient evidence. 

We call on the national and international human rights community to stand in solidarity with Kenia, express solidarity and embody support, and remain vigilant of the situation.

We reiterate our demand to the relevant Mexican authorities to release Kenia Hernández so that she may return home to her family and continue to freely carry out her vital work in defense of human rights.