Eduardo Bin Poou, a Q'eqchi human rights defender and vice president of the Fishermen's Association of El Estor, Izabal, was acquitted on Friday, May 3, 2019.

Eduardo was arrested on June 29, 2018 in El Estor, Izabal and charged on July 9 with the crime of trespassing on protected areas. Since then he has been deprived of his liberty in the prison of Puerto Barrios. His legal defense was led by two lawyers from the Human Rights Law Firm (BDH), Francisco Vivar and Santiago Choc, and PBI accompanied the case.

On Friday April 26, the Higher Risk Court A acquitted, Abelino Chub Caal, Q'eqchi human rights defender, on all charges following two years and two months which Abelino spent in preventive detention. The court concluded that there was no evidence pertaining to any of the accusations made against him by the Public Prosecutor's Office. These same accusations were backed by the Inversiones Cobra S.A. company, who acted as co-complainants in the case.

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA CONJUNTO (OMCT / UDEFEGUA) - La impunidad y el asedio a la sociedad civil marcan la situación de los derechos humanos

Ginebra-Ciudad de Guatemala, 04 de marzo de 2019 – Una agenda regresiva que cercena la libertad de asociación y la participación ciudadana, y que busca establecer la impunidad absoluta con una ley de punto final. Actos de violencia y listas negras de personas defensoras y activistas.

In September, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (henceforth, the Declaration), Peace Brigades International (PBI) invited 13 human rights defenders who are accompanied by the 7 PBI projects to Brussels. 4 full-on days of meetings that brought together advocates from America, Africa and Asia and PBI members encouraged the exchange of experiences and knowledge in terms of integral protection.