Public Ministry Presses Charges Against Defender Beaten by Police
Over the last week, three activists have been criminalized for charges related to their involvement in a peaceful demonstration that took place on November 21, 2020. The popular demonstration, attended by thousands of citizens outraged by overnight budget cuts in critical areas of need, was largely peaceful except for police brutality and excessive use of force, decried by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Last week, more than a year later, the Public Ministry accused maya Kaqchikel women’s rights activist Nanci Sinto, painter Juan Francisco Monroy, and student activist Dulce Archila of destruction of cultural heritage for the alleged painting of the side of the Congressional building that took place during the demonstration.
Police arrested Nanci Sinto and Francisco Monroy on November 24, raided their homes, and immediately transferred them to their initial hearing at the Tribunal Tower in Guatemala City. With a warrant out for her arrest, Dulce Archila voluntarily presented herself at the Tribunal Tower, where she had her first hearing on November 29. Public Ministry employees justified the charges by claiming that the damages caused could cost up to $65,000. Protesters gathered outside of the Tribunal Tower in solidarity with the criminalized defenders and called on the court to drop the spurious charges. Judge Isabel Valesquez, however, rejected their demands, as well as the motions from the defense to drop the charges, and ruled to open criminal proceedings against the three defenders.
Human rights organizations condemned the criminalization of the defenders as a tool by the Public Ministry to silence dissent. According to the Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (UDEFEGUA), “Demonstration is not a crime; the arbitrary arrest of Nanci Chiriz Sinto and Juan Francisco Monroy is a form of criminalization and repression against those who exercise and defend human rights.” In fact, video footage reveals National Civil Police officers in full riot gear attacking Sinto at the protest. Citizens presented a legal action to President Giammatteri demanding an investigation into police brutality that occurred during the protest, but their complaint remains stalled. But as Sinto explained in an interview with the Prensa Comunitaria, this inaction speaks to the selective nature of the justice system that criminalizes defenders and protects perpetrators of corruption. She stated, “I am not a criminal . . . today those who should be in prison are free.”
Human Rights Defender Murdered
Human rights defender Apolinario Quiroz was found dead on November 26 in Puerto de San Jose, Escuilinta. He apparently had been shot to death on his way to work. Quiroz was a member of the Campesino Development Committee (CODECA) and served as municipal secretary of the Movement for the Liberation of Peoples (MLP), the political arm of the Committee for Peasant Development. His death marks the 22nd murder of a CODECA member since 2018. According to Neftalí López, who was a candidate for vice president on the MLP ticket in 2019, the violence is coming from “groups against CODECA seeking to counteract our organized struggle.” The Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office condemned the murder, offering “deep and heartlfelt condolences to [Quiroz’] family and colleagues in the organization, several of whom have suffered threats and attacks because of the work they do.”
Public Ministry Announces Second Arrest Warrant for Ousted Special Prosecutor
On November 30, the Public Ministry announced a second warrant for the arrest of former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), Juan Francisco Sandoval. The warrant–issued in response to a complaint filed by the Foundation Against Terrorism–is for the alleged crimes of “abuse of authority, usurpation of powers, fraud, and conspiracy.” In a statement published on twitter, the Public Ministry claimed that according to investigations, “it has been possible to establish a connection to the signing of effective fraudulent agreements, possibly to generate impunity and undermine the resources of the State of Guatemala.”
Sandoval has been living in the United States since July, when he was forced to flee Guatemala following his arbitrary removal as head of the FECI by Attorney General Consuelo Porras. This warrant is the second issued for his arrest; Sandoval first faced charges in September for his work investigating corruption related to the President accepting bribes from a Russian businessman. Consuelo Porras issued that warrant for his arrest for “breach of duty” and “obstruction of justice.” Repudiating the Public Ministry’s accusations, Sandoval published a response on his twitter, defending his innocence. Sandoval tweeted, “the Attorney General prefers to persecute those of us who have dedicated all our energy and career to investigating the truth and building Justice.”
Crackdown in El Estor Continues
Continuing the government crackdown on anti-mining protesters, President Giammattei declared a state of prevention for 15 days in El Estor on November 22. The declaration followed a 30-day state of siege that took effect October 23. The state of prevention–like the state of siege–is one of the five “states of exception” outlined in the Guatemalan Constitution, which allows for the “temporary suspension of certain rights and guarantees.” Under a state of prevention, police are given the authority to “militarize certain public services,” “limit the holding of public meetings . . . and to dissolve them by force,” “prohibit the circulation of vehicles,”and more. (Read more about the background of the case here.)
Community leaders note that the same police that have been raiding their homes and intimidating them for the past 30 days continue to occupy the community. GHRC, along with several other human rights organizations, condemned “human rights violations . . . committed by police, military, and Public Ministry against members of the Maya Q’eqchi community under this order” and called upon the state of Guatemala to cancel the state of siege. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Blinken, Representatives Grijalva, Garcia, and Torres called on the State Department to demand an end to the state of exception in El Estor. According to Grijalva, “The US must take all necessary diplomatic steps to lower the temperature in El Estor, call upon the Guatemalan government to end the State of Exception and targeted political violence against indigenous communities, and ensure that our foreign aid is not used in ways that are antithetical to our democratic values.”
Victims of Internal Armed Conflict File Injunction Against Attorney General
On November 22, victims and survivors of the internal armed conflict filed an injunction with the Constitutional Court against the arbitrary removal of Hilda Pineda from her post as head Human Rights Prosecutor and subsequent transfer to the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against Tourists in early October. Serving for ten years as head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office on Human rights, Pineda played a vital role in prosecuting cases related to human rights violations from the internal armed conflict such as the Death Squad Dossier, the Rios Montt genocide case, and the Dos Erres massacre case. With many transitional justice cases still ongoing, victims and survivors see the transfer of Pineda as a major blow in their struggles for justice.
In a press conference announcing the injunction, the group denounced the transfer, arguing that this action by Attorney General Consuelo Porras–in addition to the forced removal of head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) Juan Franscisco Sandoval in July–was an effort to strategically dismantle access to justice for victims and to protect perpetrators of crimes. According to the victims and survivors, “Consuelo Porras not only intends to protect corrupt politicians and businessmen but also wants to protect ex-military personnel accused in cases of serious human rights violations.”