Jerson Xitumul Morales
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2018-040-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2018
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 15.783471
Longitude: -90.2307589999999
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Guatemala
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Dates of prior UN action
- 30 November 2017
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
journalist
accusations were related to demonstrations in May 2017 organized by fishermen from El Estor to protest against the alleged pollution of Lake Izabal by the mining activities of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). The participation of Mr. Xitumul Morales in the protests was limited to covering the events in his capacity as a journalist, narrating the facts and denouncing alleged excessive use of force
- Type of rights defended
- Civil/political rights
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
regularly collaborated with OHCHR Guatemala by providing information on the human rights situation in Izabal
accusations were related to demonstrations in May 2017 organized by fishermen from El Estor to protest against the alleged pollution of Lake Izabal by the mining activities of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). The participation of Mr. Xitumul Morales in the protests was limited to covering the events in his capacity as a journalist, narrating the facts and denouncing alleged excessive use of force.
- Engagement with UN body
- OHCHR: OHCHR Field office
- Dates of engagement
- May 2017
- Type of attempted engagement
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 11 November 2017
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- El Estor
- Reprisal information
n 11 November 2017, Mr. Xitumul Morales was arrested in the city of El Estor, and accused of threats, instigation to commit a crime, illicit association, illicit meetings and demonstrations, damages and illegal detention. These accusations were related to demonstrations in May 2017 organized by fishermen from El Estor to protest against the alleged pollution of Lake Izabal by the mining activities of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). The participation of Mr. Xitumul Morales in the protests was limited to covering the events in his capacity as a journalist, narrating the facts and denouncing alleged excessive use of force.
The arrest of Mr. Xitumul Morales took place four days after personnel from the OHCHR office in Guatemala met with the mayor of El Estor to discuss the problems of the protests against mining activity in the region. During the meeting, the mayor reportedly accused Mr. Xitumul Morales, another journalist and seven fishermen of being part of organized crime.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
- Defamation / Defamation campaign
- Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2019
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
The case of Mr. Jerson Xitumul Morales, a journalist who regularly collaborated with OHCHR, was included in the 2018 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/39/41, para. 40, Annex I, paras. 40–41). He was arrested on charges of threats, instigation to commit a crime, illicit association, illicit meetings and demonstrations, damages and illegal detention related to his reporting on the demonstrations in May 2017 by fishermen against the pollution of Lake Izabal by the mining activities of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). According to new information received, the trial of Mr. Morales was closed on 24 July 2018 at the request of the Public Ministry, due to the lack of evidence.
- Followup Trends 0
- Improvement
- Did the government respond? 0
- No