After the Court of First Instance resolved to link Luis Haroldo Pacheco Gutiérrez and Héctor Samuel Chaclán Batz, former integrants of the 48 cantons of Totonicapán, for the crimes of terrorism and obstruction of criminal action, the organization pronounced and indicates criminalization and persecution against indigenous peoples who participated in said demonstrations.
In a statement, the indigenous authorities expressed concern about the decision of Judge Carol Patricia Flores to send the former leaders to criminal proceedings, who will remain in the preventive for men in zone 18 while the Public Ministry (MP) conducts the investigation.
The 48 cantons expressed their “energetic rejection” to the recent acts of criminalization and persecution, holding the judge responsible for processing her ex -authorities for assumptions, related to her participation in peaceful demonstrations.
“Improper use” of justice
They also denounced the “improper use” of the justice system as a tool to intimidate, silence and prosecute those who exercise their right to protest.
The investigation promoted by the MP was listed by the organization as an act of criminalization that threatens the social fabric, democracy and the rule of law in Guatemala, and as a strategy to instill fear and weaken community life forms.
After the transfer of the defendants to the preventive, the 48 cantons of Totonicapán demanded the cessation of political and judicial persecution, and held the investigating entity and the judicial body responsible for “any damage” that Pacheco and Chaclán may suffer in prison.
Addressing the State of Guatemala, the indigenous authorities demanded the unrestricted respect of the national and international frameworks that protect the collective and individual rights of the original peoples.
In addition, they called on international human rights organizations, such as the Organization of American States, the European Union and the United Nations Organization, to monitor the situation and denounce the alleged political persecution suffered by indigenous peoples in Guatemala.
Finally, they reported that they will take the necessary measures, in consensus with the Council of Community Mayors, to define their actions.
In relation to the case, Judge Flores granted the Public Ministry a period of two months to collect the evidence that supports the accusation.
IACHR arbitrary criminalization denunciates to indigenous authorities
The Inter -American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “rejects the continuous spurious instrumentalization of the constitutional function of crime investigation by the Public Ministry (MP) of Guatemala that threatens the democratic state of law.” On this occasion, he warns about the arbitrary criminalization of indigenous authorities who peacefully headed the social mobilizations of 2023.
In its pronouncement, the IACHR pointed out that the detention and the criminal process against Pacheco and Chaclán are part of a “pattern of improper use of criminal law for political purposes”, and described as an abuse the preventive detention ordered against him.
The IACHR warns that the investigation directed by the MP is registered “under the patterns of instrumentalization of criminal law for political purposes” that they documented in different reports, where it is emphasized that the lack of independence of the institution led by Consuelo Porras and its active role to perpetrate impunity and corruption.
Finally, the Commission rejected and described the action of the investigating entity against indigenous authorities that led peaceful mobilizations in 2023 as criminalization and judicial persecution, so it reiterated its call to the State of Guatemala to carry out an independent exam on the functioning of the MP and its impact on human rights.