NISGUA reports, here, that Rubén Herrera, unjustly imprisoned since March 15 for his resistance to the Cambalam hydro-electric project, has been released from custody and cleared of all charges in one of two legal processes against him.

While this case against Rubén is closed, three of the 11 men unjustly imprisoned for eight months for their peaceful resistance to the Cambalam project continue to await the permanent closure of their case. Likewise, 20 additional individuals still have arrest warrants pending against them related to the same event.

We noted previously, here, that ‘for years, the Q’anjob’al community has been organizing in Santa Cruz Barillas, a region in western Guatemala, to defend its territory against a hydroelectric dam project. In spite of repression, harassment, detentions and a 17-day stretch of martial law imposed on the neighborhood, the community continues fighting to stop a Spanish transnational company from profiting off the region’s river.’

As part of that state repression, ‘since Friday, March 15, human rights defender and member of the Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango for the Defense of Natural Resources (ADH), Rubén Herrera, has been unjustly imprisoned for alleged crimes committed in relation to community resistance of the Cambalam hydroelectric dam, operated by Hidro Santa Cruz.’

You can read about Rubén’s release, here, and more from GSN on the events in Barillas here and here.

Categories: Environment, Justice