The office of the National Movement for Human Rights (MNDH) in Guatemala City was physically attacked and ransacked during the weekend of the 3-5 February 2007. The office is also shared with the Human Rights Defenders Unit and the Association for Communication of Art and Peace.

Reportedly the doors of the premises were forced open, and in some cases, holes were made in the walls between office rooms. Thirteen computers containing information on human rights violations and on mining issues, including encrypted information on financial and operational details of the member organisations of the MNDH were stolen.

A number of paper files relating to mining from MNDH and the Association for Communication of Art and Peace Asociacíon (COMUNICARTE) were also taken. The master tapes of COMUNICARTE’s entire documentary collection, cameras, projectors, and money were also taken from the office. Those responsible for the break-in left human faeces and gloves behind them. While staff waited for the police to arrive outside the building, a red car drove by. An individual in the car leaned out of the window of the car and proceeded to film the staff and the building.

The National Movement for Human Rights (Movimiento National Movement for Human Rights, MNDH) is an umbrella organisation, which networks the majority of human rights organisations in Guatemala. The Human Rights Defenders Unit (Unidad de Proteccion de Defensores y Defensoras de Derechos Humanos, UPDDH) investigates and reports on attacks against human rights defender on a national level. The Association for Communication of Art and Peace Asociacíon (Comunicación para el Arte y la Paz, COMUNICARTE) produces audiovisual materials on history, social memory and the internal armed conflict.

On account of the very specific files and items that were pillaged there is a strong indication that the attack is more then a criminal act. According to a report by Front Line and the National Movement for Human Rights of Guatemala, the increase in the number of attacks against human rights defenders over the past six years shows evidence of planning, indicating that there is an organized assault on the right to defend human rights in Guatemala.

Front Line Guatemala: Attacks Against Human Rights Defenders 2000 – 2005