E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.2 page 13 The People’s Indigenous Council of Oaxaca reports harassment and threats to its leaders for defending communal lands. In October 2003 an identified armed group raided the community of Yaviche, killing one person and wounding a further nine. In the Mixe municipality of San Miguel Quetzaltepec a political conflict led to a number of violent clashes between two gangs, leaving several dead and injured. A popular protest against mismanagement by the authorities in the municipality of Unión Hidalgo, Oaxaca, led to repression against the Citizens’ Council of Unión Hidalgo in which one person was killed and several wounded. The leaders of the Citizens’ Council are currently facing legal proceedings for their part in the social conflict, and stand accused of common offences which they assert that they did not commit (in December 2003 one of them was released). In the context of a municipal political conflict, several community leaders in Guevea de Humboldt, Oaxaca, have been prosecuted and their rights violated. In another case, a Huave was prosecuted for a supposed environmental crime while a Zapotec deaf-mute was illegally deported to Guatemala along with a group of immigrants with no papers. The Coordinating Committee of Colonias Unidas in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, was harassed and some of its members prosecuted for helping to uphold land tenure and obtain social services amidst rapid urban development. Violent clashes and human rights violations have taken place between two opposing groups in the community of San Isidro Vista Hermosa, Oaxaca, on account of a political conflict. 35. Although the injured parties go first to the administrative or judicial authorities for a solution, conflicts that have not been settled or have been mismanaged by the authorities may lead to de facto measures as a form of protest and pressure. This generates clashes, violence and abuses of authority, and gives rise to criminal legal proceedings, thus becoming a breeding ground for human rights violations. 36. Corruption and impunity are also to be found in the justice system. Many indigenous people have given up on the public prosecutor’s office, the courts and even the public human rights bodies since they have no confidence in them. There are also reports of abuses and even offences (e.g. violations) committed by army personnel on the indigenous civil population in conflict zones and areas of social unrest. 37. The situation of indigenous inmates in several prisons is a matter for concern. In prisons of the Mixtec and Costa region of Oaxaca many indigenous prisoners say that they have been tortured or that psychological pressure was brought to bear on them when they were detained. Generally speaking, they have no trained interpreters or official defence counsel. There are irregularities in the preliminary investigations or they are framed. The prisons, generally overpopulated, lack health services, doctors, psychologists, telephones and adequate food.