HRD Jorge Santos attacked at protest
On 23 March 2018, Jorge Santos was hit on the head with a baseball bat by a man wearing a hood and gown, while he was participating in the 120th edition of “Huelga de Dolores” in Guatemala City.
Jorge Santos is the General Coordinator of the human rights organisation Protection Unit for Human Rights Defenders Guatemala (Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos Guatemala UDEFEGUA). The organisation monitors attacks against human rights defenders, offers legal consultancy, provides risk analysis, helps build security plans and provides security equipment for human rights defenders at risk. The Unit works not only in Guatemala, but in other countries in the region such as Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the South of Mexico.
On 23 March 2018, Jorge Santos was hit on the head with a baseball bat by a man wearing a hood and gown, while he was participating in the 120th edition of “Huelga de Dolores” in Guatemala City.
Jorge Santos is the General Coordinator of the human rights organisation Protection Unit for Human Rights Defenders Guatemala (Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos Guatemala UDEFEGUA). The organisation monitors attacks against human rights defenders, offers legal consultancy, provides risk analysis, helps build security plans and provides security equipment for human rights defenders at risk. The Unit works not only in Guatemala, but in other countries in the region such as Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the South of Mexico.
On 23 March 2018, the students of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala organised the 120th edition of the “Huelga de Todos los Dolores del Pueblo de Guatemala” (Strike for all the pain of the people of Guatemala) or “Desfile Bufo”, a traditional protest during Lent, which this year focused on denouncing human rights violations related to corruption within the Guatemalan government. Jorge Santos was accompanying the peaceful protest, when a group of men wearing hoods and gowns approached the defender and one of them hit him in the head with a baseball bat. The TV channel, Canal Antigua, captured the aggression on camera. The attacker’s hood featured the traditional colours of the Economic Sciences Faculty of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Jorge Santos received medical assistance at the scene. The medical team determined that he did not sustain any fractures or internal injuries and stitched the wound. During the protest two students were also attacked. The University Student Association of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala identified the suspected perpetrators of the attack and other violent acts during the protest in a tweet.
Front Line Defenders condemns the attack against Jorge Santos and calls for the prompt identification of the perpetrators.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Guatemala to:
1. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the attack against Jorge Santos with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
2. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Jorge Santos, in consultation with the human rights defender;
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in Guatemala are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
