Guatemala

Human rights defenders at risk

Amnesty International is seriously concerned about renewed attacks against human rights defenders and social activists in Guatemala aimed at intimidating and hindering their human rights work. Attacks have included killings, attempted killings, threats and break-ins in which computers containing human rights information were destroyed or searched. While few attacks against human rights defenders are fully investigated, previous investigations show that in the past members of clandestine groups and organized crime(1) have been responsible for such attacks. These groups are suspected of carrying out some of the recent attacks against human rights defenders. Amnesty International believes that the lack of political will to deal with the longstanding issues of impunity, weak judicial system, hostility to human rights defenders and clandestine groups in Guatemala has allowed this wave of attacks against human rights defenders to go unchallenged.

Even though on repeated occasions the Government of Óscar Berger has publicly committed itself to ending impunity in the criminal justice system and combating clandestine groups, such proposals have not lead to concrete outcomes. There has been little progress in establishing an effective mechanism to investigate and prosecute members of clandestine groups. An initial proposal first tabled in 2004 was rejected by the Constitutional Court.(2) According to reports, the President plans to send a new draft law - which would endorse a new agreement with the United Nations (UN) establishing the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatus (Comisión de Investigación de Cuerpos Ilegales y Aparatos Clandestinos de Seguridad, CICIACS) - to the Constitutional Court soon. The law would then require approval by a majority in Congress.

On 10 January 2005, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a new agreement for the establishment of an Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Guatemala. The Office opened in September 2005. In February 2006 the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights published its first report on the situation of human rights in Guatemala. The report indicates that "the situation [for human rights defenders] has worsened since there has been little progress in prevention or in the investigation and punishment of those responsible."(3)

Local human rights organizations have recorded scores of cases of attacks against human rights defenders. According to the Movimiento Nacional de Derechos Humanos, National Human Rights Movement, between January and April 2006, there were 65 threats or attacks against human rights defenders.

The following cases reflect just some of the forms of attack and intimidation human rights defenders and community leaders in Guatemala are facing. The cases highlighted in this document show how threats, intimidation and attacks are used to dissuade or prevent activists from conducting human rights work. This action is part of a series of Amnesty International documents illustrating the different patters of repression faced by human rights defenders worldwide.

Killings and attempted killings of human rights defenders and social activists

1. On 2 April 2006, in the Tuticopote Abajo community, Olopa municipality, in the department of Chiquimula, community leader, Meregilda Súchite was killed. She was reportedly on her way to church with her husband, Longino Díaz, when she was shot at six times and then attacked by four machete blows (to the eyes, the mouth, and two in the chest). The man reportedly threatened to kill other members of her family.

Meregilda Súchite, participated in various activities promoting human rights including a women’s human rights network organized by the human rights organization Centro de Acción Legal por los Derechos Humanos, CALDH, Legal Action Centre for Human Rights. She has also participated in human rights observation missions, taking testimonies of those involved in disputes over land in Olopa.

Longino Díaz, filed a complaint with the police and the justice of the peace in Olopa. The reports were reportedly sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministero Público)in Esquipulas. At the time of writing, investigations into the killing are ongoing and a suspect has reportedly been detained.

2. On 20 March 2006 an attempt was made on the life of Claudia Jeannette Rivas Rosil, a teacher and the Departmental Secretary of the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Educación de Guatemala (STEG), Guatemalan Union of Educational Workers, in Jutiapa department, near the border with El Salvador. At approximately 5pm on 20 March 2006, after Claudia Rivas had left a meeting in the town of Jutiapa (the regional capital of Jutiapa department), a man approached her, brandishing a pistol with the apparent intention of shooting her. Claudia Rivas was able to get into a colleague's car, and the colleague managed to drive away quickly.

Claudia Rivas has received numerous death threats believed to be related both to her work as Departmental Secretary of STEG denouncing corruption in the Ministry of Education, unfair dismissals and labour disputes and her efforts to seek justice for the killing of her brother, German Adolfo Rivas Rosil, the former departmental representative of STEG. German Adolfo Rivas Rosil "disappeared" on 23 August 2005. His body was discovered on 23 January 2006. In her work for STEG, Claudia Rivas has denounced alleged corruption within the Ministry of Education in Jutiapa department. She has filed a number of complaints with the central education authority in the capital, Guatemala City, concerning the allegations.

Since the body of German Rivas was discovered in January 2006, the campaign led by his family to bring those responsible for his death to justice has intensified, and Claudia Rivas has been threatened and intimidated a number of times. On several occasions, police patrol cars and unmarked cars with no licence plates and tinted windows have been seen outside her house. Since her brother’s body was discovered she has also received numerous anonymous telephone calls in which the caller threatened Claudia Rivas telling her that if she doesn’t stop going to Jalapa and inquiring into the case of her brother she will suffer the same fate as him. The anonymous caller also told her that she is being watched and that the caller knows where she lives.

Claudia Rivas reported all the threats and intimidation, as well as the recent apparent attempt on her life, to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Jutiapa. However, to her knowledge no steps have been taken to investigate the threats. On 23 March 2006, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ordered the Guatemalan government provide protection measures for Claudia Rivas to ensure her safety. The Presidential Human Rights Commission, Comisión Presidencial de Derechos Humanos, (COPREDH), has organized the protection measures. At the time of writing Claudia Rivas reportedly had two security guards, 24 hours a day. Claudia Rivas has reportedly received further death threats since the attempt on her life and is concerned at the lack of progress on the investigations.

3. On 31 January 2006 in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango gunmen shot and killed a bystander in an apparent attempt on the life of Mario Corado Solórzano Puac, human rights defender and founder of the Fundación Richard Solórzano, Richard Solórzano Foundation, and his son, Abner Alexander Solórzano (witness to his brother Richard’s killing). Mario Solórzano Puac set up the Richard Solórzano Foundation in order to seek justice and clarify the events surrounding the stabbing to death of his son, Richard outside a bar on 10 March 2003 in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango. Around 8.00pm, human rights defender Mario Solórzano Puac was outside his home and the offices of the Foundation with his son, Abner Alexander Solórzano and a neighbour friend, Jonathan Valente Barrios Mérida (who looks very similar to Abner) when a red pick-up truck parked in front of the house. Inside the truck were reportedly a number of men, armed with AK-47s and 9mm handguns, dressed in uniforms with the badges of the reserve unit and the special forces of the police. One man reportedly emerged from the truck and began firing on the group, injuring the neighbour, Jonathan Valente Barrios Mérida as he ran away. Another man reportedly fired on Abner Solórzano from the back of the pick-up. Abner and Mario ran away from the armed men and escaped unharmed. The armed men reportedly fled the scene after emptying the cartridges of their guns. The neighbour, Jonathan, died of his injuries shortly after he was taken to hospital.

Mario Solórzano has presented a petition against the state of Guatemala to the IACHR for the killing of his son. The IACHR has accepted the case and the Guatemalan authorities have presented a report answering the accusations of omission and dereliction of duty on the part of the police and the regional prosecutor in Coatepeque. The attack on Mario and Abner Solórzano came at a time when Mario was preparing his response to the government’s report as requested by the IACHR. In addition to his work with the Richard Solárzano Foundation, Mario Solórzano Puac, has also reportedly been active in supporting other cases of human rights violations in the municipality of Coatepeque, offering advice and support to those who seek his expertise in approaching the local authorities.

A complaint was filed with the Human Rights Ombudsman in Coatepeque, calling on the authorities to begin an investigation into the attack against Mario Solórzano and his family, and for the Justice of the Peace (Juzgado de Paz) to order urgent security measures to protect the family. Amnesty International understands that 24 hour security measures were ordered on behalf of the family. At the time of writing Amnesty International has not been able to obtain further information regarding the investigations.

4. On 23 January 2006, the body of Darinel Domingo Montejo, brother of lawyer and human rights defender Mario Domingo Montejo, was found in a ravine in the Zone 12 neighbourhood of Guatemala City with signs of torture. Mario Domingo is a lawyer with the Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG), Human Rights Office of the Archbishopric of Guatemala. Mario Domingo was one of the lawyers working on the case of the killing of the Bishop Juan José Gerardi in which three soldiers and a priest were convicted of the killing.(4) Darniel was killed one week after the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence (sentencia de casación) of the lower court that convicted the soldiers and the priest. An appeal has been lodged with the Constitutional Court on behalf of those convicted of killing Bishop Gerardi. Darniel was a law school student and had no relation with ODHAG or any other human rights organization. Amnesty International is concerned that Darinel may have been targeted because of his brother’s work. In the past the killing of or attacks against relatives of activists or political opponents has been a common and widespread practice.

Restrictive Legal Measures

5. On 20 January 2005, Carlos Chen Osorio leader and negotiator for the Coordinador de comunidades afectadas por la hidroeléctrica Chixoy, COCAHICH, Coordinator of the Communities Affected by the Chixoy Dam, was detained on charges of threats and coercion of two Chixoy dam operators, false entry into INDE offices (State Electricity Institute), actions against public services and actions against the internal security of the nation. Carlos was given conditional release later that same day, although the charges against him have not been dropped. Antonio Vasquez Xitumul, leader of the Coordinator of the Communities Affected by the Chixoy Dam, was also reportedly detained at the beginning of February 2005 and held for approximately 30 hours. On 16 February 2005, the remaining seven community members presented themselves to the judge in Cobán. All nine are under restriction orders, medidas sustitutivas, whereby they have to present themselves to their local Magistrates, juzgado de paz every 15 days during the duration of the investigation, which should have only lasted six months. However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office did not formalize the charges against the nine community members until December 2005. On 18 January 2006, the nine members of the community pleaded that they should not be tried due to lack of movement in the investigations against them (excepción de falta de acción). However, on 23 January 2006 the trial was opened. On 7 February 2006 the nine members of the community filed for legal protection (acción de amparo) claiming a violation of their right to a defence and due process at the appeals court in Cobán. On 8 March 2006 the Appeals Court in Cobán granted the appeal and referred the proceedings to the Constitutional Court where they are still waiting a decision. In the meantime the nine members of the community must still report every 15 days to their local magistrates, which for some is a two day’s walk each way. Amnesty International believes that the restriction orders placed on the nine members of the community are unnecessarily restrictive and are not designed to guarantee their appearance at trial or for any other stage of the proceedings but rather to inconvenience them such that their work on behalf of the community is made more difficult.

Kidnapping

6. On 24 May 2006, according to eye witnesses, as Oscar Humberto Duarte Paíz, member of the board of the Asociación Integral para el Desarollo de Ciudad Quetzal (ASIDECQ), Association for the Development of Quetzal City, left the local council building in Quetzal City, six men carrying machine guns and wearing bullet-proof vests seized him and bundled him into a car. His brother, who was with Oscar Duarte at the time, followed them in his own car, and called the police, but as they passed the local police station the men took aim at him and he had to abandon the pursuit. Oscar Humberto Duarte Paíz’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Since Oscar Duarte was a victim of what appears to be a kidnapping his family have lodged formal requests for an investigation with the police Criminal Investigations Division, the Public Prosecutors Office's kidnapping unit and the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office. The local fire station has received three telephone calls claiming to report where Oscar Duarte's body is, but these have been false alarms (in Guatemala the fire services are usually called to retrieve a corpse from public places). The Community of Quetzal recently held a candlelit march and vigil demanding the safe return of Oscar Duarte. At the beginning of July, the IACHR ordered the government of Guatemala to adopt precautionary measures on behalf of Oscar Duarte’s wife and children as well as for members of ASIDECQ because of the reported multiple death threats they had received following their efforts to establish Oscar Humberto Duarte Paíz’s whereabouts. According to reports the authorities have provided security patrols to Oscar Humberto Duarte Paíz’s family and to ASIDECQ.

Death Threats

7. Members of the Unidad de Protección de Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos (UPDDH) and the Movimiento Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (MNDH) have recently been intimidated and have received death threats in what appears to be an effort to dissuade them from their work. Both organizations are involved in the defence of human rights and protection of human rights defenders. On 15 May 2006, at approximately 8:45am, a telephone call was received by a member of the MNDH. A male voice said "si siguen buscando los vamos a matar" "if you continue looking we are going to kill you". Three days earlier on 12 May 2006, the same caller had said "no se metan en mierda" "don’t get involved in shit".

The UPDDH is currently involved in documenting cases of attacks against human rights defenders and lobbying the Guatemala government to investigate and bring to justice those responsible. It is also providing support to a series of cases involving both individual human rights defenders and human rights organizations in the capital and the regions of Petén, Zacapa, Escuintla and Jutiapa. The UPDDH and MNDH are also active in briefing international governments and organizations on the human rights situation in Guatemala. The MNDH is active in the Frente Contra la Mineria,Front Against Mining and in implementing the recommendations of the UN Comisión de Esclarecimiento Histórico,Commission for Historical Clarification which investigated abuses committed during the internal armed conflict.

8. On the morning of 6 June 2006, René Guzmán, member of the board of the Asociación Integral para el Desarollo de Ciudad Quetzal (ASIDECQ), Association for the Development of Quetzal City, reportedly saw a car with no licence plates circling his house. That afternoon a car with tinted windows reportedly drove alongside David Alarcón, also a member of the board of ASIDECQ, on his motorcycle and attempted to force him off the road. He took an alternative route, but the car caught up and began trailing him discreetly at a distance. A complaint was filed with the human rights ombudsman’s office.

ASIDECQ has been involved in the local development of "Quetzal City", a small impoverished neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital, Guatemala City, including the building of a nursery and a water storage facility. It has also helped to mediate between the community and the police regarding a police shooting of a local man. ASIDECQ have since protested against the police's alleged use of excessive force against members of the community protesting the police shooting.

At the beginning of July, the IACHR ordered the government of Guatemala to adopt precautionary measures on behalf of René Guzman, David Alarcón and other directors of ASIDECQ to ensure their safety. No information is available regarding the response of the authorities.

10. Fredy Peccerelli, head of the Guatemala City-based Fundación de Antropología Forense Guatemala (FAFG), the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, his brother Gianni Peccerelli, his sister Bianka Peccerelli Monterroso and brother in law Omar Girón de León and his ex-wife have all reportedly received death threats since the beginning of January 2006. On 15 March 2006, Fredy Peccerelli reportedly received an SMS text message on his mobile phone which read, "los tenemos bien controlados antropólogo hijo de puta vamos a matar a tus hermanos primero…" ("We are watching you anthropologist son of a bitch we will kill your siblings first…"). Fredy Peccerelli has told Amnesty International that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has not advanced with the investigation into the death threats made at the beginning of January 2006. On 9 January 2006, he reportedly received a death threat by SMS text message aimed at his brother. The following day, a letter was reportedly deposited in the mail box at the home of Bianka Peccerelli Monterroso and her husband Omar Girón de León, who is the Laboratory Coordinator for the FAFG. On 5 January 2006, Jeannette Peccerelli, Fredy Peccerelli’s former wife, was shopping with her two children, accompanied by the police officer protecting her, when an unidentified man began following them. In fear for their safety, they were forced to abandon their shopping trip. On 26 August 2005, Jeannette Peccerelli, was reportedly stopped by an unidentified man as she drove home from her work in Guatemala City. The man, who had been following her for some distance in a vehicle, allegedly put a pistol to her head and told her "estamos controlando al licenciado Fredy Peccerelli" (we are keeping an eye on Fredy Peccerelli).

Fredy Peccerelli and other members of the FAFG have been subjected to numerous death threats on many occasions as a result of their work to exhume mass graves of those killed by the Guatemalan military and their civilian adjuncts in the early 1980s. In 2002, the IACHR ordered that Bianka Peccerelli Monterroso, Omar Girón de León, Fredy Peccerelli and other members of the FAFG receive precautionary protection measures. However, concerns remain about the level or efficiency of the protection provided. The level of protection had decreased just before the death threats in January 2006. Since then, they have been given the personal protection requested in terms of police presence; however, they report that it has been unreliable.

Break-ins and theft from offices of indigenous and social organizations

Indigenous, women’s and other non-governmental civil society organizations continue to face break-ins and thefts from their offices. During recent months there have been numerous break-ins against both women’s organizations and other civil society organizations. Since the beginning of 2006 there have reportedly been at least ten break-ins at the offices of civil society organizations. In 2005, according to the MNDH, 25 organizations suffered break-ins and thefts which reportedly most commonly included theft of information such as, the removal of computers or computer hard drives or the theft of paper files which included work plans and case information of human rights defenders.

11. On 5 June 2006, the departmental office of the Unión Nacional de Mujeres Guatemaltecas (UNAMG), National Union of Guatemalan Women, in Chimaltenango, about one hour outside of Guatemala City, was broken into. Desks and filing cabinets were forced open and files were searched and then left scattered all over the office. The new computer which served a project designed for women survivors of the internal armed conflict (from 1960-1996), was also stolen. UNAMG has been very active in lobbying in favour of a controversial family planning law which was finally approved in Congress in March 2006 and has also condemned the killings of women in Guatemala.(5) At the time of writing Amnesty International was not able to obtain further information regarding investigations into the break-in.

12. Also on 5 June 2006, the office in Guatemala City of the Sector de Mujeres, Women’s Sector, a group of non-governmental women’s organizations, was broken into. Desks were forced open and filing cabinets which contained human rights information on the organization's work on women were searched. Some computers and files containing information on the killings of women and family planning were also searched. Just days before, during the night of 29 May, the same office was also broken into. Mobile phones and a telefax machine were taken. This is the second time the offices of the Sector de Mujeres have been raided. In 2004 precautionary measures were sought from the IACHR on behalf of Sector de Mujeres, following a break-in into their offices in June 2004 (see No protection, no justice: killings of women in Guatemala, AMR 34/017/2005, June 2005). The Sector de Mujeres has played a prominent role in calling for an end to violence against women in Guatemala and has provided legal advice and support in many cases of violence against women across the country. At the time of writing Amnesty International has been unable to obtain further information regarding progress on the investigations into the break-in.

13. Sometime during the evening of Sunday 7 May and early morning on Monday 8 May 2006, the offices of the Coordinadora Nacional Indígena Campesina, CONIC, National Indigenous and Peasant Farmer Coordination in Guatemala City were reportedly broken into. Doors were broken down, desk drawers were open, desks were turned over, tape recorders and televisions were moved, cash was stolen, paper and documents were thrown on the floor, and files and computers were searched and some destroyed. For the two weeks prior to the break-in, CONIC reported that they had received strange phone calls and unknown people appeared at the offices asking after people who do not work for CONIC. In April 2006, CONIC called for national demonstrations by indigenous communities in support of CONIC’s negotiations with the government regarding land reform. CONIC works on individual cases of land conflict at the grassroots level. According to information received, despite the fact that the National Civilian Police (PNC) collected evidence from the scene of the crime, the Public Prosecutor’s Office reportedly has not carried out an investigation. Amnesty International understands that there has been no progress on investigations into the break-in.

14. On 22 April 2006, the offices of the Coordinadora de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de Petén, (COCIP), Peasant Farmer and Indigenous Organizations Coordination, in Santa Elena, Flores, Petén were broken into. COCIP reports that their computer files were searched, their education and training materials were trampled and human excrement was left in the meeting room. According to information received, five files with floppy discs and CDs containing information regarding COCIP’s operational plans, strategies, databases, were stolen as was money in a cash box and paper files with information regarding COCIP’s work. COCIP calls for greater access to land for the poor, campaigns against the lack of consultation with civil society on mining projects and the implications of the Central America Free Trade Agreement. At the time of writing Amnesty International has not been able to obtain further information regarding investigations into the break-in.

TAKE ACTION!

Amnesty International calls on the Guatemalan authorities to investigate all threats and attacks against human rights defenders, to bring to justice those responsible and to ensure that human rights defenders are able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of threats, attack, theft of their human rights work or restrictive legal measures.

Please send appeals to the Guatemalan authorities:

Ø Express concern at the recent wave of threats and attacks against human rights defenders and information theft at the offices of human rights and social organizations throughout Guatemala and call for full, independent and impartial investigations and for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Ø Urge the Guatemalan authorities to take immediate and effective measures to guarantee the safety of human rights defenders.

Ø Urging the Guatemalan authorities to secure the creation and implementation of the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatus (CICIACS) and ensure its independence to both initiate and contribute to investigation and prosecution as an important step to protecting the work of human rights defenders.

Ø Call on the Guatemalan government to develop a national plan of action to implement the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders to ensure they are able to carry out their legitimate work.

Please send your appeals in Spanish or your own language to:

President of the Republic of Guatemala

Licenciado Oscar Berger Perdomo

Presidente de la República de Guatemala

Casa Presidencial, 6 a. Avenida, 4-18 zona 1

Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

Fax: +502 221 4423

Salutation: Excelentísimo Sr. Presidente/Dear President Berger

Attorney General

Juan Luis Florido

Fiscal General

Fiscalía General del Ministerio Público

8a. Avenida 10-67, Zona 1,

Ciudad Guatemala, Guatemala

Fax: + 502 2251 2218

Salutation: Estimado Fiscal General/Dear Sir

Minister of the Interior

Ministro de Gobernación

Carlos Vielman

6a.Avenida 4-64, zona 4, nivel 3

Ciudad de Guatemala

GUATEMALA

Fax: +502 2362-02 37

Salutation: Señor Ministro/ Dear Minister

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Jorge Eduardo Briz Abularach

Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores

Avenida ‘La Reforma’ 4-47, Zona 10,

Ciudad de Guatemala,

Código Postal 01010,

GUATEMALA

Fax: + 502 2348 0110 / 2331 8410

Salutation: Señor Ministro/ Dear Minister

Presidential Human Rights Office

Comisión Presidencial de Derechos Humanos (COPREDEH)

Lic. Frank La Rue

2a avenida 10-50 zona 9

Ciudad de Guatemala, 01009

GUATEMALA

Telefax: + 502 2334-1615

Salutation: SeñorLicenciado

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(1) The term clandestine groups, refers to criminal networks involving the business sector, private security companies, common criminals and gang members. Preliminary investigations have also implicated members of the police and the both ex and current members of the armed forces. These clandestine groups are closely linked to both organized crime and so-called "hidden or parallel powers". These represent an informal group of powerful individuals, both civilian and military, who have embedded themselves within the state structure and use their positions and contacts to control lucrative illegal activities and guarantee immunity from prosecution. Through the clandestine groups, they also intimidate those who threatened their perceived interests. Many of the increasing number of attacks against human rights defenders, whilst often dismissed as common crime are believed to be carried out by members of clandestine groups.

(2) On 7 January 2004 the Guatemalan government signed an agreement with the United Nations to create the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Bodies and Clandestine Security Apparatus – Comisión de Investigación de Cuerpos Ilegales y Aparatos Clandestinos de Seguridad (CICIACS). On 6 August 2004 the Constitutional Court gave its advisory opinion against some key aspects of the agreement (see News Service No: 198, AMR 34/000/2004, 7 August 2004), effectively shelving the initiative.

(3) Report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Guatemala, E/CN.4/2006/10 Add.1, para 41, February 2006.

(4) Monsignor Gerardi, Coordinator of the ODHAG office, was murdered on 26 April 1998, two days after he presided over presentation of ODHAG's Recuperation of the Historical Memory Project report. In the days immediately following his death, a number of church personnel and human rights defenders -- including several involved in the Recuperation of the Historical Memory Project -- received death threats. At least seven judges, prosecutors, other judicial staff and witnesses in the Gerardi case alone left the country citing threats, surveillance and wiretapping. Several witnesses to the murder died suspiciously, including one in prison on 29 January 2001. Also, at least six of the street people who habitually slept outdoors near the Bishop's residence, and who were present the night of the murder, also died, while staff of the Archbishop's Human Rights Office have faced a series of telephoned death threats and other harassment over the years since the killing of Bishop Gerardi.

(5) The large number of killings of women in exceptionally brutal circumstances suggesting many victims also suffered some form of sexual violence before their death is the subject of both national and international concern. Women’s organizations have become increasingly vocal in calling on the Guatemalan government to end the impunity for killings of women in Guatemala and have criticized the lack of response of government authorities in the face of escalating killings. During 2004 the police reported the killing of 527 women. In 2005 this figure was up to 665 killings. Between 1 January and 9 May 2006 the police reported 243 killings. For further information regarding the killings of women in Guatemala see: Guatemala: No protection, no justice: The killings of women in Guatemala, (AI Index: AMR 34/017/2005), June 2005.