GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (HRNW) — Amnesty International has welcomed a Guatemalan judicial decision to close criminal proceedings against four Indigenous authorities who had faced prosecution following their participation in peaceful protests during the country’s 2023 national strike.
The case involved Luis Pacheco, Héctor Chaclán and Basilio Puac of the 48 Cantones of Totonicapán and Esteban Toc of the Indigenous Mayor’s Office of Sololá.
The four had faced charges including unlawful association, terrorism, obstruction of justice, sedition and obstruction of criminal prosecution in connection with peaceful demonstrations. Amnesty International described the proceedings as unfounded and linked to their work defending human rights and the rule of law.
Amnesty said Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán spent more than 15 months in pretrial detention. The organization had designated both men prisoners of conscience in May 2026.
The rights organization said the case illustrates concerns over the use of criminal proceedings to punish Indigenous Peoples for exercising rights to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and community organization.
Amnesty welcomed the court decision as an important step toward justice but stressed that the prosecution and detention should never have occurred.
The organization is urging Guatemalan authorities to ensure that Indigenous authorities and community leaders are not subjected to arbitrary criminal proceedings for peaceful participation in public demonstrations.
Amnesty also warned that criminalization can have consequences extending beyond individual defendants by weakening Indigenous systems of representation and discouraging communities from exercising their rights.
The development is being viewed by rights advocates as an important test of Guatemala’s commitment to protecting peaceful protest, Indigenous rights and the rule of law.
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Disclaimer
This article is based on information and assessments published by Amnesty International. References to alleged criminalization and human-rights violations are attributed to the organization and are not presented as independently established HRNW findings.
