Mexico: Scientist and Activist Disappears, Family Fears Authorities’ Involvement · Global Voices
Andrés Monroy-Hernández

Aleph Jiménez, an activist and a scientist at one of the leading research centers in Mexico, has gone missing since September 20, 2012. According to a statement [es] released by the Jiménez family, Aleph was fearing for his safety after having been arrested and later released for participating in a protest on September 15 along with other members of the #YoSoy132 student-led activist movement. Jiménez and his colleagues held a press conference [es, video] denouncing police repression days before the disappearance. Furthermore, in an interview, Aleph's father stated that he believes the authorities are involved in the disappearance of his son.
The Director of the local Human Rights Commission, Raúl Ramírez Bahena, issued a report [es] about the forced disappearance of Aleph Jiménez, where he positions the case in the context of other violent events against members of the same movement in other parts of Mexico and the disappearance of a prominent blogger. Also, the Jiménez family reports that the bodies of two of his son's colleagues from the same research center were found in the past two weeks. At least one is being investigated as a possible murder [es].
The disappearance of Aleph Jiménez generated a lot of attention on social media yesterday. His name was one of Mexico's top trending topics on Twitter, for example. Furthermore, netizens are using the hashtag #AlephJiménezDóndeEstá [es] to call attention to his case and share information.
The family seems to have set up a Facebook Page [es] and a Twitter account (@FamiliaAlephJ) [es] to help spread the news and find more information about Aleph. Similarly, the research center where Jiménez worked has issued a statement [es] asking the authorities to solve the case promptly. The #YoSoy132 activist movement is preparing demonstrations.
Image of Aleph Jiménez posted on the family's Facebook page