The students, faculty, and staff of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego have prepared a petition to President Luis Guillermo Solís asking that the

Jairo Mora loved to teach children about nature. Wikimedia Commons

mishandling of evidence during the trial of Jairo Mora Sandoval’s alleged killers be investigated and also that protection for environmentalists be increased on Costa Rica’s sea turtle nesting beaches.

The letter below was provided to The Costa Rica Star by graduate research student Abigail Libbin Cannon, who is also a coral surveyor and scientific diver for the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation:

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• 8622 Kennel way
• La Jolla, CA 92037
• USA

• Presidente Luis Guillermo Solís
• Casa Presidencial
• Zapote, Costa Rica

We are writing to inform you of our sadness at the murder of Jairo Mora Sandoval and our outrage that the alleged perpetrators were acquitted due to the prosecution’s mishandling of evidence. We are also concerned that citizens of a country that has built its international reputation on peace, democracy, and environmental sustainability can no longer protect their natural heritage without fear of violent, even fatal, reprisals.

We support Representative Edgardo Araya Silbaja’s motion calling Chief Public Prosecutor Jorge Chavarría to testify before the Legislative Assembly’s Environmental Commission and account for these events. We also call upon the Costa Rican government to increase law enforcement efforts on sea turtle nesting beaches to protect both endangered species and our Costa Rican colleagues. We have also sent copies of this letter in Spanish and English to La Nación, La Prensa Libre, Diario Extra, La República, Ahora, The Tico Times, and The Costa Rica Star.

Sincerely:

Students, faculty, and staff of Scripps Institution of Oceanography