Media Advisory, July 30, 2013

Contact: Peter Galvin, (520) 907-1533
Todd Steiner, (415) 488-7652 or TSteiner@TIRN.net

Demonstration Will Be Held Outside Costa Rican Consulate in L.A. Demanding Justice for Murdered Sea Turtle Activist

Petition With 137,000 Signatures From More Than 150 Nations Delivered to Costa Rica Consulate in Los Angeles

What: On Wednesday, environmental advocates will gather outside the Costa Rica Consulate in Los Angeles to demand justice for Jairo Mora Sandoval, a sea turtle activist working to protect a turtle nesting beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast near Limón who was kidnapped and murdered on May 30, likely by egg poachers. Environmental organizations around the world are calling for the arrest and conviction of the murderers; they will deliver a petition with 137,000 signatures of people calling for justice for Jairo. In the United States, the petitions will be delivered to the Costa Rica Consulate in Los Angeles. Similar actions are taking place in Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, El Salvador, Ecuador, India and Australia.

Who: Todd Steiner, executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network (SeaTurtles.org), an international environmental organization working to protect marine biodiversity, and Peter Galvin, director of programs for the Center for Biological Diversity, will meet with Costa Rican officials in Los Angeles to deliver the petition.

When: Wednesday, July 31 at 12:30 p.m.

Where: Costa Rica Consulate, 1605 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA

Media: Todd Steiner and Peter Galvin will be available for broadcast, web and print interviews.

For more information on the case, visit: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/costa-rican-turtle-defender-found-slain-on-the-beach-he-patrolled/