In a significant acknowledgment of her relentless fight against corruption under perilous conditions, Virginia Laparra Rivas, a former prosecutor in Guatemala, was honoured with the prestigious Sir Henry Brooke Award for 2025. The ceremony, organized by the Alliance for Lawyers… Read More ›
Amnesty International
Anti-corruption prosecutor in Guatemala given 4-year jail term
The International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) have noted the sentencing of Virginia Laparra to a four year jail term, further undermining the fight against corruption in Guatemala, the corruption being carried out by the business and military elites, as… Read More ›
Amnesty International demands immediate and unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Virginia Laparra
In response to the continued criminalisation of Virginia Laparra, Amnesty International published an item in her support as a ‘prisoner of conscience’. Former prosecutor Virginia Laparra, who was head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) in Quetzaltenango, is… Read More ›
The Indigenous Leader Targeted for Protecting His People’s Land
The case of Bernardo Caal Xol is featured on this video from VICE as part of the Amnesty International campaign ‘Write For Rights’. “Why am I in jail? For denouncing what they are doing to the rivers, defending what little… Read More ›
UN Human Rights – Stop treating indigenous human rights defenders like criminals
United Nations human rights experts have expressed concerns over the criminalisation, violations of due process, and health rights of Bernardo Caal Xól, a Q’eqchi’ Maya Indigenous leader and Guatemalan human rights defender. “Mr. Bernardo Caal Xól has been criminalised because… Read More ›
Interview with wrongfully imprisoned Maya Q’eqchi river defender Bernardo Caal Xol
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… Read More ›
World Water Day – It Is Time To Free Bernardo Caal Xol
Yesterday, 22nd March, was World Water Day, and we wanted to bring attention to the case of Bernardo Caal Xol, who has been unjustly detained for three years now. Since 2015, Bernardo Caal has defended the rights of the communities… Read More ›
Guatemalan forces disperse migrant caravan
Historic elite-level corruption in Honduras, narc-trafficking, and brutal internal violence, much of it state-sponsored, as well as the effects of climate change, especially as witnessed by the successive hurricanes that battered the country, Eta and Iota, within the unprecedented situation… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 