Accusations of Rape and Murder at a Guatemalan Mine Will Finally Be Heard In a Canadian Court

[Judi Lynn]

Accusations of Rape and Murder at a Guatemalan Mine Will Finally Be Heard In a Canadian Court

By Hilary Beaumont
April 6, 2016 | 11:20 am

On a Sunday in the fall of 2009, Adolfo Ich Chaman arrived weaponless at the scene of a confrontation between members of his community and guards at the Fenix mine in Guatemala, where the Mayan Q'eqchi' were occupying land they said was rightfully theirs.

The sound of gunshots had brought the school teacher and activist to a Fenix enclosure surrounded by barbed wire fencing. According to a statement of claim detailing that day's events, Chaman was worried about violence during the Mayan communities' protests that day and had arrived on the scene hoping to restore calm.

As he approached the fence, approximately a dozen guards armed with guns and machetes grabbed the 50-year-old, beat him, and hacked him with machetes before shooting him in the throat, just under his ear.

Cellphone photos taken by relatives after he died show the man's face covered in blood with a gunshot wound below his left ear. Autopsy photos show two deep gashes in his arm, carved into his flesh by machetes.

More:
https://news.vice.com/article/guatemala-lawsuit-against-canadian-based-hudbay-will-finally-see-its-day-in-court

[center] [/center]

[Judi Lynn]

1. As though time has stood still, this story from July, 2013, at this forum:

Lawsuits against mining company alleging shootings, gang rapes can go ahead in Canada

Lawsuits against mining company alleging shootings, gang rapes can go ahead in Canada

HudBay Minerals says it will defend itself ‘vigorously’ against claims by 13 Mayan Guatemalans.

By: The Canadian Press, Romina Maurino Published on Tue Jul 23 2013

Three lawsuits against a Canadian mining company over alleged shootings and gang rapes at a Guatemalan project will be allowed to proceed in Canada following a ruling that makes it possible for firms to face liability at home for incidents that occur overseas.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, 13 Mayan Guatemalans, said the decision is a “wake-up call” for Canadian companies about their responsibilities at foreign mining projects.

“This step in the case uses existing legal rules that have not been applied in this way before,” lawyer Murray Klippenstein said in an interview Tuesday.

The suits allege that security personnel, along with members of the police and military, attacked and raped 11 women in 2007 who were forcibly removed from their village in relation to the Fenix project.

Two related lawsuits seek to hold HudBay Minerals Inc. and a subsidiary responsible for the subsequent killing of community leader Adolfo Ich as a result of a land dispute and the shooting and paralysis of local resident German Chub.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/110820649