IDHAE INFORMATION
GUATEMALA
String of death threats, and
suffered intimidation,
against
Romeo Monterrosa Orellana
and his family
Amnesty International believes they
are in grave danger
Lawyer
Romeo Monterrosa, his wife and two daughters, aged 10 and 11 have received a
string of death threats, and suffered intimidation, believed to be linked to
his work defending peasant farmers against powerful landowners.
Romeo
Monterrosa is representing the human rights NGO Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo (GAM), as
party to the state prosecution proceedings, in charging the owner of the El
Corozo farm with the murder of eight farm workers who were shot dead during
protests against the land owner on 24 January 2005. Police were present but
took no action. Families of the victims have withdrawn their charges, allegedly
under pressure from the landowner. Judge JosÈ VÌctor Bautista Orozcoin was
withdrawn from the case in April 2005 ; he was murdered a few days later.
Romeo
Monterrosa is also representing the farm workers who claim ownership of the
Colonia La Catorze farm, which is on the coast in Puerto San JosÈ. The farm was
sold to a Panamanian company in 1996, despite the fact that the Constitution
prohibits non-Guatemalans from owning property within 15km of the country’s
borders, including its coastline. The notary public who authorised the deal is
now the Solicitor General
On
30 September, while at a meeting to discuss land rights cases in the office of
the Solicitor General (Procurador General), Romeo Monterrosa received a text
message on his mobile saying "sabes que sos un hijo puta y que todo lo que
has hecho en tu puta vida lo vas a pagar con lo que m·s quieres,"
"you know you are a son of a bitch, and everything you have done in your
fucking life, you are going to pay for it with what you love most." Romeo
Monterrosa fears that "what you love most" means his daughters. Two
days earlier his wife had been followed to work by a pick-up truck which she
could not shake off.
During
the night of 8 October, there was an unsuccessful attempt to burgle Romeo
Monterrosa’s office. The lock was badly damaged but prevented the door from
opening.
GAM
reported all this to the Supreme Court on 11 October, asking the authorities to
order an investigation.
On
16 October, his wife received three text messages that appeared to come from
Romeo Monterrosa’s mobile phone, between 4 and 5pm. The first read,
"Comuniquese conmigo, me urge hablarle", "Get in touch with me,
I need to talk to you urgently" ; the second "Le estoy llamando,
devuelvame la llamada", "I’m trying to call you, return the call",
and the last simply "Comuniquese", "Get in touch". She
contacted him but Romeo Monterrosa had not sent any messages.
RECOMMENDED
ACTION : Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or
your own language :
expressing grave concern for the safety of
lawyer Romeo Monterrosa Orellana, his wife and daughters, who have suffered
death threats and intimidation ;
calling on the authorities to take immediate
measures to protect Romeo Monterrosa and his family, in accordance with their
own wishes ;
calling on the authorities to carry out a
full, prompt and impartial investigation into the threats and other acts of
intimidation, with the results made public and those responsible brought to
justice ;
urging the authorities to take immediate measures to end the intimidation
of those defending and supporting communities involved in land conflicts, so
that they can carry out their lawful activities without fear of intimidation ;
APPEALS TO :
|
Minister
of the Interior Ministro
de GobernaciÛn Carlos
Vielman 6a.Avenida
4-64, zona 4, nivel 3 Ciudad
de Guatemala. GUATEMALA Fax
: +502 2362 0237 +502
2361 5657 Salutation
: Estimada Ministro/Dear Minister |
Attorney
General Fiscal General de la Rep?blica y
Jefe del Ministerio P?blico Juan Luis Florido Solis 8a. Avenida 10-67, Zona 1, Tercer
Nivel. Antiguo Edificio del Banco de los Trabajadores Ciudad de Guatemala, GUATEMALA Fax : +502 2251 2218 Salutation : Estimado Fiscal
General/Dear Sir |
COPIES TO :
President
of the Supreme Court
Presidenta de la Corte Suprema de
Justicia y del Organismo Judicial
Lcda. Beatriz Ofelia De LeÛn Reyes
7™ Avenida y 21 Calle, Zona 1,
Centro CÌvico Justicia, Edificio Corte Suprema de Justicia, Ciudad de
Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax
: +502 2232 6626
+502
2248 7116 (If someone answers say, "Tono de fax por favor")
Human
Rights NGO
Grupo
de Apoyo Mutuo
8a Calle 3-11 Zona 1
Ciudad
de Guatemala, GUATEMALA
Fax
: +502 2220 0606
PLEASE
SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
UA 274/05