Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted a video of its Acércate (‘come closer’) interview with Maya Q’eqchi river defender Bernardo Caal Xol in prison in Cobán, Alta Verapaz.
Caal Xol is a leader of the Peaceful Resistance of Cahabón, a collective of 38 Maya Q’eqchi communities in Guatemala. The Resistance was formed to oppose the construction of the Oxec and Renace dams on the Cahabón River and its tributaries.
In November 2018, Caal Xol was sentenced to seven years and four months by a court on allegations that lack objective evidence. Amnesty International has declared that Caal Xol is a prisoner of conscience who has been wrongfully imprisoned.
You can read the full piece by Brent Patterson, including links to the video of the interview here, PBI-Guatemala interviews wrongfully imprisoned Maya Q’eqchi river defender Bernardo Caal Xol.
You can read more here on GSN, World Water Day – It Is Time To Free Bernardo Caal Xol. Both include links to the Amnesty petition to free Bernardo.
Categories: Accompaniment, Corruption, Criminalisation, Culture, Environment, Guatemala, Human Rights, Indigenous peoples, Justice, Land, Mining, Poverty, Resource Extraction, Solidarity in Action, Video
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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