Help Guatemalan Defenders Uncover the Past

May 22, 2008

On May 19 Fredy Peccerelli received an email that said that he would be killed and his wife would be raped, murdered, and sent to him in pieces. Peccerelli is a renowned forensic anthropologist who leads exhumations of mass graves. The scientific evidence he and his team uncover could enable the prosecution of those responsible for hundreds of massacres committed during Guatemala's armed conflict.

Days earlier Judge Eduardo Cojulun also received death threats. He had just sent a report to the government stating that there was sufficient evidence for these crimes to be prosecuted in Guatemala.

The Guatemalan government must now act to stop the intimidation of human rights defenders seeking accountability for past mass atrocities.

Please send a letter to the Guatemalan government to urge that it:

• Investigate the death threats and prosecute those responsible.
• Review and strengthen protection to Peccerelli, Judge Cojulun, and others who have received threats.
  

Background:

More information about past mass atrocities in Guatemala: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_guatemala/hrd_jpc.asp

HRF joint NGO letter in February 2008 about threats against Peccerellli's organization, Foundation for Forensic Anthropology in Guatemala (FAFG): http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/080229-hrd-fafg-letter-eng.pdf

See Human Rights First Guatemala webpage: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/defenders/hrd_guatemala/hrd_guatemala.asp

Sample Letter:

Rosa Maria Salazar
Human Rights Prosecutor
Attorney General's Office

Dear Dr. Salazar,

I write to express my concern about recent intimidation and death threats against the Foundation for Forensic Anthropology in Guatemala (FAFG) and Judge Eduardo Cojulun.

On May 19, FAFG Executive Director Fredy Peccerelli and others at FAFG received an email threatening to kill Fredy, his family, and others at FAFG. Of particular concern, it stated that Fredy's wife, Bianca Peccerelli, would be raped and savagely killed. It also made reference to the young child of Omar Bertoni Giron, head of the laboratory at FAFG. The email made clear reference to FAFG's work in current legal proceedings against former military and police officials alleged to have committed crimes against humanity and genocide.

Through forensic anthropological investigations, the FAFG exhumes and identifies victims of massacres, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances during the Guatemalan internal armed conflict. For more than 15 years FAFG has provided scientific evidence of massacres to help support judicial processes and clarify the truth. FAFG has received numerous death threats in recent years, most recently in February of this year. To my knowledge no one has been prosecuted for sending these death threats.

On May 17 and 18, Judge Eduardo Cojulun reported that he also received death threats via telephone. In recent months, Judge Cojulun of the 11th Criminal circuit has been hearing witness testimony from survivors of various massacres committed during the internal armed conflict. Just prior to the threats he had sent a report to the Attorney-General's office recommending that they investigate the massacres. That report stated that sufficient evidence existed to prosecute former military and police officers for human rights violations for massacres such as Plan de Sanchez and Rio Negro. The report further stated that if Guatemalan prosecutors did not investigate the massacres, they would be guilty of a crime of omission.

These threats are a clear attempt to deter FAFG and Judge Cojulun from seeking accountability for past atrocities in Guatemala. They are just the latest acts in a clear pattern of intimidation over many years against FAFG. Moreover, threatening high profile targets such as FAFG and Judge Cojulun has a broader silencing effect on civil society, discouraging efforts to combat impunity in Guatemala and frightening witnesses and victims.

Objective 7 of the 2007 National Plan of Action for Human Rights received by President Colom in December 2007 guarantees the rights of human rights defenders and victims of human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict. Specifically it guarantees that "judges... and others... shall not be intimidated or threatened for seeking to combat impunity and furthering justice."

I call upon you to implement objective 7 by immediately investigating the death threats against FAFG and Judge Cojulun and promptly prosecuting those responsible. In the past, threats against FAFG have preceded a wave of attacks against other NGOs that seek justice for past crimes. Finding and prosecuting the perpetrators of these threats would be of enormous value in deterring future threats against human rights defenders.

I also ask the Interior Ministry and the National Police to review and strengthen the security and protective measures provided to FAFG and judge Cojulun.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.