Un-Prisonment - Releasing the Wrongfully Convicted

Dear En Vero Donors.

Once again, thank you for your on-going support.

Since our last report in september 2018, and beside our regular activities of investigation and legal support to victims in Mexico, Columbia, and other countries - thanks to our team of dedicated volunteers from different countries and locations around the world - En Vero has participated in four major events in Mexico between november and december 2018.

En Vero co-organized along with renowned US-based mexican journalist and founder of Los Angeles Press Guadalupe Lizárraga the first national forum dedicated to victims of wrongful convictions in the Mexican Republic. The forum was held on nov. 5 and 6 at the House of Representatives in Mexico City, and proved to be a huge success, with representatives and members of the new elected government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador interested in working hand in hand with NGOs such as En Vero in order to solve efficently the problem of wrongful convictions in this country. During the preparation of the event, we have been tirelessly working with Guadalupe Lizarraga (who also works on a voluntary basis and is one of our most precious allies in the fight for the release of the wrongfully convicted in Mexico), to build a database that will allow us to quantify this phenomenon. A report is currently under preparation

We are currently working with a Colombian NGO to export the concept of a forum on the theme of the wrongful convictions to Colombia in the upcoming months.

On Dec. 10, En Vero's representative in Mexico, M. Ricardo Avila, led a press conference in presence of journalists Guadalupe Lizarraga and José Reveles, as well as Mexican Catholic Priest and human rights living symbol Alejandro Solalinde. During the press conference, Lizarraga supported by En Vero asked for the immediate release of three of the victims in the Wallace Case.

On dec. 2-4, 2018, the additional hearings of the International Tribunal of Conscience, were held in Mexico City. David Bertet, as now member of the ethical jury, attended the hearings and listened to testimonies of victims of human rights violations. A report by members of the ITC jury is also under preparation. 

Dec. 8-9, 2018, Acapulco: We actively supported our partners from Comunidad CREA who successfully organized the 2nd forum against corruption in the city of Acapulco. On this occasion, David Bertet held a conference on the theme of the wrongfully convicted at the Autonomous University of Guerrero. 
 
In short, the En Vero team is particularly excited to see the results of our efforts during the last couple of years. Much remains to be done though. Thousands of wrongfully convicted remain in jail while being innocent. Their families and loved ones are still suffering from injustice and human rights violations. However, we are now sensing a genuine desire to reform the penal system in Mexico and to make things right. What we can rightfully expect from this newly opened dialogue between us, our allies and the Mexican authorities is a massive release of wrongfully convicted within the next few months. We are also expecting good news for some of our defendees in Colombia. All of this is the result of our workers' dedication and passion for justice, as well as of your support. 

We remind you that our donors' trust in our work is essential,not only for us, but also and foremost for the victims we represent and fight for. 

As stated in our previous report, we were able to raise a total of 9,994$ (CAN) thanks to all of you who participated in our second fundraising campaign with GlobalGiving. However, no additional donation has been received on our GlobalGiving platform since our last report. Given that all of the amount of your past donations has already been used,  we have been counting on other sources of income / donations unrelated to GlobalGiving. Which is why the following report will closely resemble the one already published in September 2018.

• Office expenses (including mailing, printing, website maintenance): $1050.41 CAD
• Travel expenses: $4311.61 CAD 
• Work meetings: $211 CAD. This section includes the rent of work spaces for our meetings.
• Professional fees (Investigation, translation): $203 CAD (unchanged) 
• Direct help to the victims: $323 CAD. In this section, we take into account the expenses aimed at providing immediate physical and psychological assistance to the victims.

Total spent (between July 2017 and Sept 2018): $6098 CAD

As you know, En Vero provides pro bono logistic and legal help to those who have been falsely accused. The number of victims and new requests for assistance is constantly increasing, and we need your help and support to fulfill our mission. The En Vero work team is composed of dedicated volunteers. Your generosity allows us to perform our activities and fulfill our mission in support of the victims of injustice and their families. We hope that with your help, we will be able to free more innocents in 2018; given our past successes, and knowing that our methods proved to be highly effective in previous cases, we strongly believe this will be the case.