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IDHAE INFORMATION
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The four people named above make up the team of lawyers at the human
rights organisation Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), the
Centre for Legal Action on Human Rights. They provide legal support to
people seeking justice on behalf of relatives killed in massacres during
Guatemala's internal armed conflict. They have been subject to a number of
aggressions in recent days and received a message amounting to death threat. Amnesty International believes their lives may be in grave danger. On 5 February at 4pm, Angélica González found the following message
printed out and stuck to her car windscreen: deja de fastidiar con proteccion
protegete vos misma que no entendes con tanto aviso decile al Pancho que se cuide y lo
hijos y la mujer que siempre estan solos siempre los vemos y ustedes aboganster
[sic] de mierda que solo dinero quieren busquen otro trabajo sino un dia de
estos saldremos a almorsar [sic] juntos como siempre nosotros invitamos
‘entiendan hijos de puta’ ("Stop messing around with protection protect
yourself don’t you understand with so much warning tell Pancho [Francisco] to look after
himself, his children and wife they are always on their own we always see them and
you fucking lawyer-gangsters [a clear reference to the CALDH Justice and Reconciliation Team (JRT) of which the four are members] who only want
money look for other jobs if not one of these days we’ll take you out to lunch
as always it’ll be on us ‘get it into your heads sons of a bitches’").
Her car had been parked in front of the office of the Comisión Presidencial de
Derechos Humanos (Presidential Commission on Human Rights), where she had been
attending a meeting. On 2 February at 12pm one of her colleagues was assaulted by two men as
he was getting out of his car in front of his housein Guatemala City. They
forced him at gunpoint to lie down on the floor in the back of the car: one of of
them held him while the other drove. They drove for about 20 minutes and then
left him in the suburb of Colonia Primero de Julio, on the western periphery
of the city. His insurance company used satellite tracking and located the car a
few hours later in the centre of the city. All of his belongings, including
his chequebook and laptop, were found inside, showing that the motive had not
been robbery. The same day, at 1pm, JRT member Otto Navarro found that one of his tyres
had been slashed while his car was parked outside a photocopy shop in a car
park with security guards. BACKGROUND INFORMATION CALDH has been actively involved in investigating cases of human rights violations that took place during the internal armed conflict in
Guatemala (1960-1996), and also current human rights concerns. In 2004 it brought
the case of the Plan de Sánchez massacre (carried out by government forces in
1982) before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and achieved a ruling
against the Guatemalan state which was ordered to apologize and pay compensation
to survivors. Since October 2006 it has been involved in the legal
proceedings against former military officers, including former Head of State General
José Efraín Ríos Montt, whose arrest and extradition has been requested by Spain
on grounds of universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity and Spanish
nationals killed during the internal armed conflict. The security situation of human rights defenders in Guatemala
deteriorated in 2006, and they suffered an increase in harassment and death threats.
Local human rights organizations reported that 14 were killed that year, and
278 attacked; this was a significant worsening of the situation during the
previous year, when three had been killed and 214 attacked. One of CALDH’s partner organizations reported that its members had been
kept under surveillance, and suffered death threats and harassment on eight
separate occasions between 13 September 2006 and 23 January 2007. They reported
this to the national authorities and to the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights, which ordered the Guatemalan government to provide them with protection
on 20 October 2005. Their office currently receives protection. A number of illegal armed clandestine groups operate in Guatemala. Their members are linked to businesses and security companies, and they include
common criminals, gang members and possibly both serving and retired
members of the armed forces. As they have infiltrated the police and other branches
of the security forces, they are able to control lucrative illegal activities
such as drug smuggling and guarantee immunity from prosecution. They have been
shown to be responsible for threatening or killing human rights defenders. RECOMMENDED
ACTION : Please
send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Spanish or your own
language : ·
expressing concern for the safety of Francisco Soto, Angelica Gonzalez,
Otto Navarro, Jennifer Echeverria and other staff of the Centro para la
Accion Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), who received a death threat on 5
February ; ·
calling on the authorities to order an immediate and thorough investigation,
publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice ; ·
reminding the authorities that human rights defenders thave a right
to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of reprisals,
as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights and
Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and Institutions to Promote and
Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. 08
February 2007 UA 32/07
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