Guatemala: Threats against human rights defender Omar Giron and his organisation

Front Line is deeply concerned by information regarding a death threat made against Omar Giron. Omar Giron is the Head of the Department of Forensic Anthropology of the Fundación de Antropología Forense Guatemala (FAFG – Guatemalan Foundation of Forensic Anthropology). He is also the brother-in-law of Fredy Peccerelli, the Executive Director of the FAFG. The FAFG is a non-governmental organisation that investigates human rights violations through the application of forensic science and sociological approaches, with a view to instilling the respect for and the protection of human rights.

Further Information

Posted 15/02/2008 According to information received, on 2 February 2008, a text message was sent to the Omar Giron's mobile phone containing the following text: “Les van a quitar la seguridad y mueren Omar... y Fredy hijos de puta” (“They are going to take the security away and Omar and Fredy will die, sons of bitches”). On the same day that the message was sent, an article was published in the Guatemalan publication Siglo XXI, in which the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Governance announced that security personnel were to be reduced in order to increase the number of agents available to patrol the streets.

Front Line believes that Omar Giron has been targeted as a result of his legitimate human rights activities. Furthermore, Front Line is concerned that this threat against Omar Giron represents part of a pattern of repeated death threats against the staff members of the FAFG that are in direct relation to the organisation's work in the defence of human rights, in particular its forensic investigation into human rights violations. Members of the FAFG have been the subjects of death threats since 2002. In 2002 the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights instructed the Guatemalan authorities to provide protective measures for Fredy Peccerelli and the staff members of the FAFG. These protective measures have since been reduced and Front Line is concerned that protection may be insufficient in view of the continued harassment.