Tracking cases that protect freedom of expression, association, and assembly
Location: Guatemala
According to the CIVICUS Monitor, civic space in Guatemala is rated as “repressed” after being downgraded from the “obstructed” category in 2022. CSOs have expressed concern over the erosion of judicial independence that has enabled the reduction of the space for civil society and independent press. Freedom of association and political rights are at risk after the judicial actions aimed at delegitimising the results of the presidential elections in 2023.
During the past year, authorities pursued abusive prosecutions of social justice advocates and operators. Systematic repression and criminalisation have forced prosecutors and judges who worked against corruption and impunity into exile since April 2021.
Human rights defenders have faced a rise in harassment and violence, while the institutional spaces for monitoring their situation and ensuring their protection are weakened. Attacks on HRDs rose sharply in 2020 and 2021, with over a thousand cases documented each year. In 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights confirmed that three journalists were killed in direct connection with their work.
Judicial harassment has also been one of the main tactics adopted by power holders to intimidate and repress dissenting voices and the independent press. In 2022, at least 61 cases of criminalisation of journalists and human rights defenders were documented by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
For more information about the country, visit: https://monitor.civicus.org/country/guatemala/
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Carlos Choc Case
Carlos Choc is a Mayan community journalist who has faced constant criminalization since 2017, as a result of his work documenting and investigating environmental rights violations. There is one on-going criminal proceeding against Mr. Choc.
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Norma Sancir Case
Indigenous journalist Norma Sancir was detained and beaten when she was covering a demonstration in September 2014. More than eight years later, the criminal procedure against the four police agents responsible for the attack is still on-going, as a result of intentional delays caused by the agents’ defense.
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Samococh Case
On August 15, 2014, a police operation was deployed in the context of a peaceful demonstration taking place in Samococh, Chisec, Alta Verapaz. As a result of the excessive use of force, three indigenous community members were killed, five were detained and 60 were injured. More than eight years later, only three police agents have…
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Virginia Laparra Case
Virginia Laparra, former anti-corruption prosecutor, was arrested on February 23, 2022. She is currently facing two criminal proceedings, in retaliation for several administrative complaints she filed against a judge. She is currently deprived of her liberty in inhumane conditions.
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Guatemala’s Law on Non-Governmental Organizations
On February 11, 2020, the Guatemalan Congress approved reforms to the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations, which increased governmental control over NGOs operating in the country. This law empowers the government, specifically the Ministry of the Interior, to withdraw the registration of an organization without any type of procedure, and to control funds derived from international…
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Sonny Figueroa and Marvin del Cid Case
Sonny Figueroa and Marvin del Cid are two renowned Guatemalan journalists, who founded the media outlets Artículo 35 and Vox Populi, which play an important role in the oversight of the Guatemalan government’s use of public resources. In this role, they have exposed major corruption scandals, which has resulted in constant attacks, threats, criminalization and…
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Bernardo Caal Xol Case
Bernardo Caal is a Q’eqchi Mayan community leader, teacher, and defender of land rights and the environment in Guatemala. Bernardo was criminalized for his fight against the construction of a hydroelectric plant on the Cahabón River. After spending four years in prison, Bernardo was released on March 24, 2022.
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Criminalization of Mayan Women Journalists
Anastasía Mejía Tiriquiz, an indigenous journalist, and Petrona Siy Castro, an indigenous community leader, were arrested in the context of a protest that took place on August 24, 2020 in Joyabaj, against the local mayor. After facing a criminal proceeding for the crimes of sedition, arson and aggravated assault, they were released on September 3,…