GUATEMALA Communications sent

170. On 8 December 2000, the Special Representative transmitted allegations regarding the following cases.

171. According to the information received, on 1 August 2000, Mr. Celso Balan Argueta, a representative for Centro de Action Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH) was reportedly detained, robbed, drugged and left unconscious by two unidentified men. He was reportedly interrogated for several hours about the exhumation of the mass grave of the victims of murders at Chipastor, Chimaltenango and, in particular, about the process of identifying those responsible for these murders. It has been alleged that Mr. Balan's attackers are linked to those responsible for the murders at Chipastor and that the orders to attack him or to commit the murders may have come from army personnel at the Chimaltenango military base.

172. It has been reported that, on 4 September 2000, heavily armed men raided the offices of two human rights organizations, Familiares de Detenidos y Desaparecidos de Guatemala (FAMDEGUA) and Hijos por la Identidad y la Justicia contra el Olvido y la Impunidad (HIJOS) in Guatemala City and assaulted the staff of both organizations. It has also been reported that the

E/CN.4/2002/106 page 93

assailants stayed for an hour, threatening staff members with death. The assailants reportedly stole the organizations' computers containing records of human rights cases under investigation, other office equipment and a vehicle. It has been alleged that this act of intimidation was committed by members of the Guatemalan armed forces and that military intelligence agencies were also involved.

173. According to information received, on 24 October 2000 five armed men entered the office of Asociacion Mujer Vamos Adelante (AMVA), an organization working for the promotion of women's rights and against violence against women. It has been reported that 15 women were reportedly forced into a room and locked in it, and that the attackers subsequently raped a young woman before leaving. Computers and documents were also stolen.

174. On 24 January 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Mynor Melga, a high-profile human rights lawyer working for the Oficina de Derechos Humanos del Arzobispado de Guatemala (ODHAG), who has reportedly received death threats. On 22 December 2000, two unidentified armed men called at Mr. Mynor Melga's home. Mr. Melga was ordered to the bathroom at gunpoint. The two men told his wife and his two sons that this was only a warning. It has been reported that the incident happened only two days after Mynor Melga publicly announced that ODHAG was preparing to charge retired General Efrain Rios Montt with genocide.

175. On 21 March 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning a group of unidentified men who, on 12 March 2001, reportedly raided the offices of the

Centro de Estudios, Information y Bases para la Action Social (СЕШ AS), stealing equipment, including the organization's computers. This act of harassment is the third incident suffered by the organization since February 2000. It has been reported that CEIBAS lodged a complaint before the Tribunales de Justicia, the Public Prosecutor, the Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos and the National Civil Police.

176. On 10 May 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding

Mr. Urias Bautista Orozco, chief of the Human Rights Procurator's Auxiliary Office (PDH) in the department of Solola, as well as other members of the organization, who reportedly received threatening phone calls warning them to stop investigating the killing of Mr. Teodoro Saloj Panjoj, who had been taking part in a demonstration about land reform. The police had apparently refused to pursue the person responsible for the killing. Since then workers at the office have reportedly been intimidated repeatedly by police and others have

E/CN.4/2002/106 page 94

received threatening phone calls. According to the information received, the PDH workers

were being intimidated because they tried to publicize their findings in the case of

Mr. Teodoro Saloj Panjoj and because they are still acting as mediators in the land disputes.

177. On 15 May 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal regarding

Ms. Aura Elean Farfan and Mr. Luis Aldana, members of the Association of the Familiares de Detenidos y Desaparecidos de Guatemala (FAMDEGUA). Both were reportedly abducted on 4 May 2001 by two armed men who took control of their car and drove off. They were reportedly threatened that they would be killed if they screamed or sought to attract help. Their identity documents were reportedly inspected and they were questioned about their work and about FAMDEGUA. Some 45 minutes later, the two unidentified men released Ms. Aura Elean Farfan and Mr. Luis Aldana in a different part of the city and drove away in the FAMDEGUA car. On 8 December 2000, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation to the Government about the raid on the offices shared by FAMDEGUA and HIJOS on 4 September 2000 by unidentified armed men.

178. On 31 July 2001, the Special Representative transmitted a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding

Mr. Anselmo Roldan, president of the Asociacion Justicia y Reconciliation (AJR), and also president and legal representative of the Asociacion de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos del Area Ixcan (ADDHAI). Mr. Roldan was reportedly attacked on 22 July 2001 with a knife by a male resident of the Cuarto Pueblo community, Playa Grande, Ixcan. The attacker had reportedly repeatedly threatened Mr. Roldan and other witnesses who are filing lawsuits against Guatemalan military officers for genocide during the civil war. According to the information received, the attacker fled to a nearby house belonging to members of the ruling Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG) party, which is led by retired General Rios Montt, the current president of Congress. No order for the attacker's arrest has been issued, despite Mr. Roldan reporting the incident to the authorities, including the police and the local State prosecutor's office, on the day of the attack. Members of the AJR have reported other incidents, including surveillance by soldiers dressed in civilian clothes, threats and attempts to break into the homes of the family members of witnesses.

179. On 15 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation letter jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture on the basis of new information received regarding the case of Mr. Celso Balan, which was already transmitted on 8 December 2000. According to the source, on 1 August 2000, unknown men drove Mr. Celso Balan to the office of Centro de Action Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), where he was allegedly beaten and the office searched. Mr. Celso Balan was forced to swallow a sedative and lost consciousness. He was found two days

E/CN.4/2002/106 page 95

later in the local cemetery. The ill-treatment had allegedly caused him neuralgic, physical, psychological and emotional problems for which he has been under treatment. According to the doctors, the sedative could have caused paralysis and death.

180. On 30 August 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar, an activist of the organization "Colectivo Gay-Lesbico" and a member of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. On 19 August 2001, Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar and his friends Juan Luis Telon and Franz Alvaro were reportedly intercepted by a national civil police officer who asked him the reasons why they were laughing at him. The policeman backed up by other officers reportedly threw

Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar on the ground and hit him. Afterwards, they checked his identity card and left. According to the information received, these facts were reported to the Oficina de Responsibilidad Profesional of the National Civil Police and Mr. Bances Escobar was examined by a forensic doctor, who certified his injuries. It was further reported that no action was taken by the police to identify those responsible for the violation. This incident was allegedly connected with the activities of Mr. Fernando Rafael Bances Escobar for the Colectivo Gay-Lesbico and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca party.

181. On 25 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, sent an urgent appeal regarding alleged threatening phone calls received by Mr. Waldemar Barrera, Assistant Procurator for Human Rights, in connection with the investigation by the Procurator General's Office regarding the extrajudicial execution of a journalist, Mr. Jorge Alegria. It has been reported that Mr. Waldemar Barrera, in charge of the investigation, reportedly disclosed publicly the names of those responsible for the murder. He was reportedly threatened by phone and ordered to stop his investigation into the murder and to refrain from making another public statement. In a press release, the Procurator for Human Rights, Mr. Julio Arango, reportedly asked the Ministry of the Interior to guarantee

Mr. Waldemar Barrera's safety. The Procurator reportedly stated that Mr. Alegria's murder had been politically motivated and that the authorities of the municipality of Puerto Barrios and San Tomas de Castilla were responsible for Mr. Alegria's murder.

182. On 5 October 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, sent an urgent appeal concerning threats and intimidation affecting Mr. Hector Dionicio Godinez, Coordinator of Casa Alianza's legal aid Programme. It has been reported that on 10 September 2001 a car tried several times to force Mr. Dionicio Godinez off the freeway. On 10 and 25 September 2001, Mr. Dionicio Godinez reportedly received threatening phone calls at his home and on his cell phone. In addition, on 26 September 2001, two unidentified men in civilian clothes allegedly

E/CN.4/2002/106 page 96

broke into and tried to steal the Casa Alianza vehicle. According to the information received, this series of threats is connected with the suit brought by Casa Alianza before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. In this case, Casa Alianza was pressuring the Government of Guatemala to pay a half a million dollar settlement to the families of five street children who were tortured and murdered by two Guatemalan policemen in 1990.

183. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning the alleged intimidation suffered by Ms. Ruth Carrido, coordinator of the Sister Parish Centre, a church organization which offers assistance and shelter to indigenous peasants. According to the information received, during a meeting between the indigenous communities and the Centre for Legal Action in Human Rights held in the Sister Parish Centre from 11 to 13 October 2001, members of the Centre reportedly noted phone interference, while Ms. Ruth Carrido reportedly received threatening phone calls in her office and at home. In addition, on 14 October 2001, Ms. Ruth Carrido found the doors of the office had been opened and confidential documents and computer materials stolen.

184. On 19 October 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal concerning

Ms. Matilde Leonor Gonzalez Izas, a member of the Centro de Estudios para el Avance de las Ciencias Sociales (AVANSCO), who has reportedly been kept under surveillance and has received a number of threatening telephone calls in connection with research and information she had published on the new mechanisms used by the military to maintain local power in San Bartolome Jocotenango in the department of El Quiche and in San Idelfonso Ixhahuacan. On 2 October 2001, a man reportedly entered Ms. Leonor Gonzalez Izas' house and stole her lap-top computer containing information on her research on San Bartolome and San Idelfonso. On 18 October 2001, she lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor.

185. On 8 November 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions sent an urgent appeal regarding Mr. Javier Mendez Games, assistant human rights procurator in Coatepeque in Quetzal tenango department, as well as other members of his office. According to the information received, on 5 October 2001, unidentified assailants broke into the offices of Mr. Javier Mendez Games in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango department. Nothing was reportedly stolen but the office's car was destroyed. In addition, Mr. Javier Mendez Games reportedly received threatening phone calls. These threats are reportedly linked to the activities carried out by the office of the human rights procurator, such as investigating and denouncing corruption in State institutions in Quetzaltenango and in the national police.

E/CN.4/2002/106 page 97