Posted 2010/6/16
Guatemala: Update - Death threats against human rights defender Ms Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova
Further to the Front Line Urgent Appeal sent on 25 March 2010, Front Line has received the following new information regarding death threats against human rights defender Ms Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova in Guatemala. On 11 June 2010, Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova received a series of seven death threats via text message to her mobile phone.
Further Information
Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova is the director of the Fundación Sobrevivientes, an organisation which provides support to female victims of human rights violations.
All of the messages, received between 12.16 and 12.59pm, threatened that Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova and/or people close to her -- including her son -- would be killed. Several alluded to the apparent fact that she was being followed and one such message gave the registration number of her vehicle as "proof" thereof. Several of the threatening messages provided potentially important information regarding their motives. The fourth message, received at 12.34 stated that "now that you messed with me you have to live with the consequences" (ahora que me tocaste atenta a las consequencias). The fifth, received three minutes later, gave Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova three days to "drop charges" against the sender and referred to the sender's "image as an authority". The sixth threatening message threatened the murder of Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova's son if she should complain or make the threats public.
It is believed that the threats are related to Norma Angélica Cruz Córdova's work on the cases of rape and murder victims, many of which are said to involve individuals with links to organised crime.
Furthermore, it is believed that these latest threats may be linked to Norma Angelica Cruz Córdova's work, in conjunction with the Convergencia Nacional por los Derechos Humanos (National Convergence for Human Rights) demanding the dismissal of Mr Conrado Reyes Sagastume (who was named Attorney General), as a result of his alleged links to organised crime. Their work concerning this issue led to a decision by the Constitutional Court, on 10 June 2010, which ordered that the electoral process for Attorney General be repeated and that Mr Reyes Sagastume be relieved of his position. The decision also ordered that the members of the nomination committee be replaced.
The threats have been reported to the Human Rights Attorney's office and the Presidential Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Unit of the Police Department are reportedly already supporting the investigation.
On 25 March 2010, Front Line issued an urgent appeal regarding a further series of death threats against Norma Angelica Cruz Córdova which were believed to be related to her work on the case against José Santos Barrientos, an alleged member of the organised crime gang known as “El Taquero,” who was charged with the murder of Ms Francisca Ayala and Mr Carlos Enrique Cruz Pineda in July 2008 in the village of El Zapote, El Progreso. Prior to her murder, Francisca Ayala had received threats warning her to drop the criminal case against Prof Leonel Ayala who was accused of the rape of her 13-year-old niece.
