CRIMINALIZATION OF EHRDs SUPPORTING THE Q´ANJOB´AL COMMUNITY
DETAINEES
Mynor Manuel López: detained for almost three years
Francisco Juan Pedro, Adalberto Villatoro, Arturo Pablo Juan, Domingo Baltazar, Bernardo Ermitaño López and Rigoberto Juárez: in prison for more than one year.
COMPLAINERS
Employees of Hydro Santa Cruz and State officials.
CAUSE FOR DETENTION
The Prosecutor´s Office largely based its investigation on a document issued by Hydro Santa Cruz, in which it leveled unsubstantiated claims that the environmental defenders were "part of a criminal network" in Huehuetenango.
In July 2016, the authorities ordered the immediate release of the 'Huehuetenango Seven'
In an unanimous decision, the judges absolved Francisco Juan Pedro, Adalberto Villatoro, Arturo Pablo Juan, Domingo Baltazar, and Mynor López of all charges.
However, in a majority decision, the judges declared Bernardo Ermitaño López guilty of "obstructing legal action" and Rigoberto Juárez of "coercion". The judges ordered their release due to time already served.
Presiding judge Yassmín Barrios publicly stated her disagreement with said decision, recalling the responsibility of judges to uphold truth and justice, as opposed to the interests of private companies.
After eight years of struggle, communities in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, are celebrating a decision by the Spanish Company Ecoener-Hidralia to start shutting down its Hidro Santa Cruz damming operations on the Q´AM´B´ALAM river - (Freedomhouse, 2017)
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Credits:
1. Waterlat Gobacit; Poza verde, Barillas, Huehuetenango, Guatemala; May 27, 2017; (CC BY-NC 2.0). 2. Wikipedia 3. USAID Guatemala; Villager in Huehuetenango.A.Garcia.USAID.2014; February 7, 2014; (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). 4. Andres Chicol; Laguna Ordoñez, Huehuetenango; December 4, 2011; (CC BY-SA 2.0). 5. Josué Goge; Nacimiento río San Juan; January 26, 2012; (CC BY 2.0). 6. Alberto Castillo; Windows; January 3, 2014; (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).