Being a journalist or social or community communicator in Guatemala is a high risk activity. According to the Reporters Without Borders 2020 report on freedom of the press, Guatemala is now in the "red zone", ranked 116 out of 180 countries worldwide. The same report states that: “The new president of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, who took office in January 2020, inherited a disastrous situation in terms of freedom of the press.
Guatemala, un país conocido por su abundante naturaleza y por sus raíces mayas, xinkas y garífunas, sigue albergando uno de los tesoros más preciados para la humanidad: las voces de los Pueblos Originarios que nos recuerdan que somos parte del tejido de la vida1. Sin embargo, esas raíces ancestrales y comunitarias se han visto fuertemente golpeadas por dinámicas depredadoras y violentas desde los tiempos de la colonización hasta el día de hoy, despreciando la vida y poniendo en el centro intereses económicos de diversos grupos de poder.
On 22nd April this year we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the theme is climate action. In order to celebrate this day, PBI draws attention to the plight of environmental defenders who put their lives at risk to protect their territories from economic projects that destroy ecosystems and instigate irreversible damage.
Hoy, 22 de abril de 2020 se cumple el 50 aniversario del “día de la tierra”
During the last week of May, the worrying situation at the Historical Archive of the National Police (AHPN) came to the fore once more. In the month of July of 2018, Gustavo Meoño, director of the archive since 2005 was dismissed without notice or explanations. Since the beginning of 2019, staff have been gradually, but continually, dismissed. Today only 35 people are left working at the Archive, when at its peak the Archive had a team of 200 workers.
Esta última semana de mayo, volvió a salir a la luz pública la preocupante situación del Archivo Histórico de la Policía Nacional (AHPN). En julio 2018, sin mayores explicaciones, fue despedido Gustavo Meoño, quien fue su director desde 2005. Desde inicios de este año, y de forma paulatina, se ha seguido despidiendo personal. Al día de hoy solo unas 35 personas trabajan en el Archivo, cuando en el pasado se llegó a contar con un equipo de 200 trabajadoras y trabajadores.
Eduardo Bin Poou, a Q'eqchi human rights defender and vice president of the Fishermen's Association of El Estor, Izabal, was acquitted on Friday, May 3, 2019.
Eduardo was arrested on June 29, 2018 in El Estor, Izabal and charged on July 9 with the crime of trespassing on protected areas. Since then he has been deprived of his liberty in the prison of Puerto Barrios. His legal defense was led by two lawyers from the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH), Francisco Vivar and Santiago Choc, and PBI accompanied the case.
Eduardo Bin Poou, defensor q’eqchi’ y vicepresidente de la gremial de pescadores de El Estor, Izabal, fue absuelto el viernes 3 de mayo de 2019.
On Friday April 26, the Higher Risk Court A acquitted, Abelino Chub Caal, Q'eqchi human rights defender, on all charges following two years and two months which Abelino spent in preventive detention. The court concluded that there was no evidence pertaining to any of the accusations made against him by the Public Prosecutor's Office. These same accusations were backed by the Inversiones Cobra S.A. company, who acted as co-complainants in the case.
Tras dos años y dos meses de prisión preventiva, el viernes 26 de abril, el Tribunal de Mayor Riesgo A absolvió al defensor q’eqchi’ Abelino Chub Caal. El tribunal concluyó que no había pruebas para ninguna de las acusaciones formuladas por el Ministerio Público (MP) y secundada por el querellante adhesivo, la empresa Inversiones Cobra S.A. En la sentencia se manifiesta que “se está haciendo uso del derecho penal como una forma para criminalizar la conducta del acusado” El tribunal ordenó la liberación inmediata del defensor y líder comunitario.
