Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that a girl who is related to Mr Manuel Calel Morales, a human rights defender, was the victim of a sexual assault and a murder attempt on 17 February 2009. Manuel Calel Morales is the Coordinator for the Asociación Guía que Conduce al Pueblo Tierra del Maíz – Kamal B'e Rex Tinamit Ixim Ulew (Guiding Association which Leads the ‘Land of Maize’ People), a non-governmental organisation which has campaigned since 1980 against impunity for crimes committed during the internal armed conflict in Guatemala which lasted from 1960 until 1996.

Further Information

Manuel Calel Morales has denounced homicides, forced disappearances and other human rights violations committed by the Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil (Civil Defence Patrols), a civilian paramilitary group which has taken action against indigenous groups under orders from the army. Manuel Calel Morales has also recently denounced criminal gangs in the Department of Quiché. On 16 February 2009, he presented a formal complaint against them to the local Public Prosecutor's office. It is believed that some former members of the Civil Defence Patrols are associated with the criminal gangs.

On 17 February 2009, at approximately 8.30 a.m., the girl (whose name has not been disclosed for the protection of her identity) was kidnapped by an unknown armed man when she was leaving her house in the Departament of Chimaltenango. The girl was taken to a deserted area where the perpetrator hit her and attempted to rape her. The man made a telephone call to somebody saying that he had the girl. Next, he told the girl “vas a pagar por todo lo que [Manuel] está haciendo en tu pueblo (you are going to pay for everything that [Manuel] is doing in your town)”, before throwing her head-first into a well which was approximately eight metres deep. The girl managed to escape after more than 10 minutes, by which time the perpetrator was no longer at the scene.

Between 9 and 9.30 a.m. on the same day, Manuel Calel Morales received a call on his mobile telephone. The caller told him twice “aquí tengo a [girl's name] (I have [girl's name] here)”, before hanging up. On 19 February 2009, Manuel Calel Morales received three telephone calls in which a man, who refused to give his name, asked him about the girl before hanging up.

Front Line believes that the sexual assault and the murder attempt against the girl who is related to Manuel Calel Morales is directly related to his work in the defence of human rights, in particular his work to denounce human rights violations by criminal gangs in the Department of Quiché and by Civil Defence Patrols during the internal armed conflict in Guatemala. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the girl who was subjected to a sexual assault and a murder attempt, Manuel Calel Morales and all of his family members.