Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2004 - Guatemala

Assassinations

Assassination of Mr. Diego Xon Salazar¹⁶⁰

On 3 April 2003, armed men kidnapped Mr. Diego Xon Salazar, a member of the Mutual Support Group (Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo – GAM) representing families of victims of human rights violations in Guatemala, from his home in Comanchaj, Chichicastenango department. His body was found on 5 April 2003. As of late 2004, this killing remained unpunished and no investigation had been undertaken.

Assassination of Mr. Hugo Oswaldo Gutiérrez Vanegas¹⁶¹

On 5 June 2004, Mr. Hugo Oswaldo Gutiérrez Vanegas, president of the "Protierra de La Pita" Committee in Santa Ana (Petén region), was killed by machete blows while returning home after participating in a training session. Mr. Gutiérrez Vanegas, leader of a village community, opposed land expropriations in the region and had founded the group "Communities United", composed of the communities of La Pita, El Zapote, El Mango, La Sardina, El Juleque and Santa Ana Vieja to protest those actions. Mr. Gutiérrez was vice-president of the peasant group, which still faced obstacles to winning legal recognition from local authorities.

Two months before he was killed, there had been an attempt on Mr. Gutiérrez Vanegas' life but the authorities did not respond to this gunshot attack. Other human rights defenders and community leaders in the region fighting to protect their lands were subjected to regular death threats.

The Prosecutor responsible for the inquiry into Mr. Gutiérrez Vanegas' killing quickly concluded that it involved a "crime of passion." However, a criminal law attorney and his team of investigators proved that not only was the killing crime politically motivated but that local authorities – even the mayor of Santa Ana – might have been involved. The results of the investigation had not been made public in late 2004. In addition, the Apostolic Vicariate of Petén announced that it would resubmit the case so that legal proceedings would be initiated.

Assassination of Mr. Julio Rolando Raquec¹⁶²

On 28 November 2004, Mr. Julio Rolando Raquec, secretary general of the Union Federation of Independent Workers (Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Informales – FESTRI) and member of the General Central of Guatemalan Trade Union Conference (Central General de Trabajadores de Guatemala – CGTG) was shot to death in Guatemala City when returning to his apartment. He was still alive when city emergency personnel transported him to the San Juan de Dios hospital, where he died of multiple wounds on the morning of 29 November.

In March 2004, Mr. Julio Rolando Raquec's home had already been searched; he had been the victim of violence and threatened with death if he notified the authorities. In June 2004, he was attacked and made a verbal complaint with former government Minister Mr. Conte Cojulun, asking that the area around his home be secured and that access to the area where he travelled be restricted. Mr. Rolando Raquec had also received threats that his daughters would be raped if he continued his activism on behalf of workers. However, despite the complaints filed, the individuals responsible for the threats were never identified and Mr. Rolando Raquec was never provided any protection.

An investigation into this murder was underway but produced no results as of late 2004. CGTG representatives met with the private affairs secretary of the public Prosecutor's office as well as with Guatemala's Vice-President, Mr. Eduardo Stein Barrillas, in a meeting that also included a representative from the public Prosecutor's office and from the government Ministry's Office (Gobernación). At that time, those officials promised to present the results of the investigation during a subsequent meeting.

Rumours circulated in the neighbourhood regarding the killers' intention to also murder family members, but as of the end of 2004, Mr. Julio Rolando Raquec's wife and daughters were believed to be safe and not to have received any direct threats.

Harassment and raids of organisations' headquarters

Harassment of the CNOC¹⁶³

During the night of 5 March 2004, unknown persons entered and raided the regional headquarters of the National Coordination of Peasant Organisations (Coordinadora Nacional de Organizaciones Campesinas – CNOC) in Petén department. Several days earlier, the headquarters' employees had received threatening telephone calls. On 1 October 2003, the organisation's offices had been ransacked and files relating to land conflicts were stolen.

Threats, attacks, forcible confinement and harassment of members of the CALDH¹⁶⁴

On 11 March 2004, Mr. Edwin Galicia, driver for the Centre for Human Rights Legal Action (Centro de Acción Legal para los Derechos Humanos – CALDH), was forcibly held and his vehicle stolen and then abandoned. These events occurred one week after CALDH testified before an unofficial Canadian jury court¹⁶⁵ about killings perpetrated during the armed conflict.

On 14 and 15 July 2004, the home of Mrs. Edda Gaviola, CALDH director, was ransacked.

On 30 July 2004, the CALDH headquarters in Guatemala City received anonymous telephone calls warning that a bomb had been placed on its premises.

On 1 August 2004, the CALDH office in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, received a written message threatening its members and, specifically, Mr. Miguel Ángel Albizures, the organisation's spokesperson, who witnessed the 1982 Plan de Sánchez massacre. The threats also targeted human rights organisations that condemned the Plan de Sánchez massacre.¹⁶⁶

Finally, on 11 September 2004, Mr. Mario Minera, coordinator of the local empowerment and democratic development program, was the victim of an armed attack outside Guatemala City area while driving to Solola for a business meeting in a CALDH vehicle. Two armed men threatened him with death and forced him into their car. They held him for a half-hour, taking documents related to his activities with CALDH. In addition, Mrs. Andrea Barrios, a member of CALDH's women's rights program, with whom he was meeting, observed several strange cars that then tailed her.

Acts of harassment against the PDH and the human rights section of the Public Prosecutor's Office¹⁶⁷

Members of the Office of the Human Rights Prosecutor (Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos – PDH) and the human rights section of the Public Prosecutor's Office experienced multiple acts of harassment and threats.

On 11 March 2004, individuals riding a motorcycle chased the automobile carrying Mrs. Thelma Ines Peláez Pinnelo de Lam, a special prosecutor (fiscal) in the human rights section of the Public Prosecutor's Office who had previously been subjected to threats and harassment in 2003.¹⁶⁸ After being cut off by Mrs. Peláez's bodyguards, the individuals identified themselves as army members and said that the prosecutor should "leave things alone." That same day, a car followed Mrs. Peláez's vehicle for more than an hour.

In September 2004, Mrs. Thelma de Lam was transferred to the appeals unit of the Public Prosecutor's Office (Unidad de Impugnaciones en el Ministerio Público), where she handles prosecutions dealing with human rights. Since that time, she had not received further threats but had experienced discrimination at work, where she faces obstacles to pursuing her investigations. In addition, her salary was reduced.

On 19 March 2004, Mr. Erick Villatoro, an assistant to the PDH in San Marcos, received multiple anonymous telephone death threats.

Finally, in late 2004, no one had yet been punished for the 11 June 2003 killing of Mr. José Israel López López, a lawyer and assistant at the PDH. Those responsible for the crime had not yet been identified and the investigation provided no results.¹⁶⁹

Repression against trade union activists¹⁷⁰

Arbitrary detention and release of trade union activists¹⁷¹

Arrests of Mr. Victoriano Zacarías Mindez, Mr. Wilson Amelio Carreto López and Mr. Miguel Angel Ochoa. On 25 February 2004, Mr. Victoriano Zacarías Mindez, executive secretary of the CGTG and secretary general of the Drivers' Trade Union (Sindicato de Pilotos Automovilistas y Similares de Guatemala), as well as Mr. Wilson Amelio Carreto López and Mr. Miguel Angel Ochoa, directors of the Truck Drivers' Union (Unión de Pilotos de Transporte Pesado por Carretera) in Guatemala City, were arrested by State security forces. They were demonstrating against the implementation of measures to reduce the circulation of heavy trucks in the capital. The detainees were charged with terrorism because of a gasoline spill from two tanks placed at a crossroads in the city centre. However, these incidents were the work of other individuals who infiltrated the demonstration to provoke disorder. After four months of detention, they agreed to a plea bargain (pleading guilty to three of the six minor offences with which they were charged) and were released on parole on 2 June 2004. Although Mr. Victoriano Zacarias Mindez and Mr. Wilson Carreto returned to their activist work with the CGTG, Mr. Miguel Angel Ochoa lost his job and ended all activism.

Acquittal of Mr. Rigoberto Dueñas Morales. On 19 August 2004, the 11th chamber of the Criminal Sentencing Court (Tribunal undécimo de Sentencia) acquitted Mr. Rigoberto Dueñas Morales, deputy secretary general of the CGTG, and ordered his immediate release. The public Prosecutor's office, the Guatemala Social Security Institute (IGSS) and the national Prosecutor general's office (Procuraduría General de la Nación) appealed the decision. The ruling in appeal will likely be issued in 2005. Mr. Dueñas Morales had been assumed guilty of crimes against the IGSS, including fraud and possession of stolen goods. His lawyer had requested that his client be freed for lack of evidence. The 10th criminal court of first instance denied the request. Later, the national attorney general, Mr. Carlos David de Leon Argueta, concluded that sufficient evidence was lacking to proceed against the CGTG leader and called for his release, an end to the trial and a ruling against those responsible. However, during the public hearing, the judge rejected the attorney general's position and Mr. Dueñas remained in detention.

Although he is now free, Mr. Rigoberto Dueñas Morales is not authorised to leave the country. He serves, again, as the CGTG's representative to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's Tripartite Commission of International Affairs on Labour Matters (Comisión Tripartita en Asuntos Internacionales en Trabajo del Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social), as provided for in Convention 144 of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).¹⁷²

Threats against trade union leaders¹⁷³

Threats against trade union leaders at the Kern's company. On 29 June 2004, death threats against trade union leaders at the food company Kern's were found at the company premises. These threats continued through late 2004. By the end of the year, no action had been taken in response to the complaint filed with the public Prosecutor.

Threats against Mr. Herminio González. On 30 June 2004, Mr. Herminio González, secretary general of the Union of Esquipulas municipality Workers and deputy secretary general of the National Federation of Civil Servants (FENASEP), a trade union that defends the rights of local government workers, received telephone death threats from an unknown person. This person warned that he was being watched and demanded that he leave his home, threatening him with death if he did not comply. The person who issued the threats also referred to the conflict that followed the municipal government's unlawful termination of Mr. González and 41 other employees on 17 September 2002, after they criticized human rights violations perpetrated against them.

In late 2004, Mr. Herminio González, who now worked for the CGTG, was still receiving telephone threats. To date, the complaint filed with the public Prosecutor had not been investigated.

Threats against Mrs. Imelda López de Sandoval. Mrs. Imelda López de Sandoval, CGTG and FENASEP executive secretary and secretary general of the Union of Civil Aviation Workers (Sindicato de Trabajadores de Aeronautica Civil – STAC) at Guatemala City's La Aurora airport, received anonymous telephone and written threats, discrediting her and demanding that she end her trade union activities. The first attack against her occurred in 2003, when the brakes and electrical system of the car she was driving were tampered with. After a second unsuccessful attempt, during the week of 18 October 2004, to provoke an accident by sabotaging her car, her superiors sought to transfer her to another unit. She refused. Mrs. Imelda López de Sandoval filed a complaint with the public Prosecutor, but as of late 2004, the enquiry had produced no results.

In November 2004, a car followed her for two days when she left work.

On 1 December 2004, Mrs. López de Sandoval was again the victim of a similar attack on her car. It also failed.

Following these events, the STAC filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's office of the Public Ministry and, subsequently, with the ILO.

Searches of organisations' headquarters¹⁷⁴

On 19 September 2004, break-ins were committed at the Guatemala City offices of the social welfare organisations, Migrants' House (Casa del Migrante) and Peace and Third World (Paz y Tercer Mundo). For more than 10 years, the Migrants' House has been investigating those responsible for human trafficking and has sought to ensure the rights of internal and international migrants. During the break-in, databases and files related to these enquiries were stolen. The premises of the organisation Peace and Third World, which addresses socio-economic and community development of uprooted peoples and victims of armed conflict, were also ransacked. Many files and data, as well as computer equipment and passport information, were also stolen. This organisation had been subject to acts of intimidation in May 2004, when its Ixcán office was targeted by gunfire.

In addition, several weeks earlier, the offices of two other Guatemala City social organisations, the Amatitlaneca Progressive Union and the COOSADECO Cooperative, had been ransacked. Files and important documents, as well as a large sum of money, were stolen.

As of late 2004, these four incidents had not been investigated.

Acquittal of Mr. Bruce Harris¹⁷⁵

On 30 January 2004, the 12th chamber of the Criminal Sentencing Court (Tribunal Duodécimo de Sentencia) announced that charges were being dropped against Mr. Bruce Harris, director of the NGO Casa Alianza.

Mr. Harris had been prosecuted for defamation and could have been sentenced to five years imprisonment for his statements during a 1997 press conference, at which he announced the results of an investigation into child trafficking and accused several lawyers of involvement in irregular adoptions.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

159. See Annual Report 2003.

160. Idem.

161. See Urgent Appeal GTM 002/0604/OBS 043.

162. See Urgent Appeal GTM 007/1204/OBS 091.

163. See Open Letter to the Guatemalan Authorities, 22 July 2004.

164. See Open Letter to the Guatemalan Authorities, 22 July 2004, and Urgent Appeals GTM 004/0804/OBS 064 and 064.1.

165. A symbolic tribunal intended to draw public attention to violations that remain unpunished.

166. During this massacre, some 268 people (most of whom were from the Maya Aché community) were killed. The Inter-American Court for Human Rights found the Guatemalan government responsible for the events and the trials of those allegedly involved (specifically, highly-placed army officials serving during the presidency of General Rios Montt) were underway as of late 2004 before the Public Prosecutor, the Inter-American Court and the IACHR.

167. See Annual Report 2003 and Open Letter to Guatemalan Authorities, 22 July 2004.

168. See Annual Report 2003.

169. Idem.

170. See Urgent Appeal GTM 003/0704/OBS 052 and Open Letter to the Guatemalan Authorities, 22 July 2004.

171. See Urgent Appeals GTM 001/0304/OBS 016, 016.1 and Open Letter to the Guatemalan Authorities, 22 July 2004.

172. Agreement on the tripartite consultations on international labour standards, 1976.

173. See Urgent Appeal GTM 003/0704/OBS 052 and Open Letter to the Guatemalan Authorities, 22 July 2004.

174. See Urgent Appeal GTM 004/0904/OBS 072.

175. See Annual Report 2003 and Press Releases, 22 January 2004 and 2 February 2004.