A webinar on the illegal sale of assault rifles from Germany and the lethal consequences for Mexico
Film documentary “Lethal Exports”
Saturday, September 26
Watch the film in Youtube here.
Live Panel: German weapons and the Ayotzinapa case
Saturday, September 26
Panelists:
Sofia de Robina, Attorney, Human Rights Center (Centro Pro DH), Mexico City
Daniel Harrich, Filmmaker, Munich
Wolf-Dieter Vogel, Journalist, Berlin/ Oaxaca
Sara San Martín, Faith community organizer, Mexico City, moderator
Presentations in English. Watch here.
Six years ago, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, police and members of the criminal organization Guerreros Unidos attacked students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College. Six people died and 43 students were forcibly disappeared. Today, the family members of victims still call for justice and access to the truth: What happened to their sons, brothers, and nephews?
After the September 26, 2014 attack, human rights defenders and journalists from Mexico and Germany discovered that some of the police used G36 assault rifles produced by German company Heckler & Koch (HK) – weapons that were illegally exported to Guerrero. Their denunciation of this illegal export and its lethal consequences led to a trial of those responsible in a German court. HK was ultimately convicted and sentenced for this crime – but German companies continue to sell weapons to Mexico, and some of these exports appear to be illegal.
On September 26, we presented “Lethal Exports,” the documentary produced by German filmmaker Daniel Harrich and shown on German network TV in April. Harrich’s film follows the trial of HK, explains how corruption made this deal possible, and shows the consequences for the Ayotzinapa students.
The film is accompanied by a live panel on weapons exports to Mexico and options to stop this dangerous business.
