PRESS RELEASE

-IM-Defensoras condemns the arbitrary detention, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and the
beginning of a process of criminalization against the Kaqchikel Mayan community leader Barbara
Surn Diaz, president of the Consejo Comunitario de Desarrollo (COCODE - Community
Development Council) by the Guatemalan government.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014 - The Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative
(IM-Defensoras), which links together more than 300 women human rights defenders in Mexico,
Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua denounces the arbitrary detention, excessive use
of force and the criminalization process launched against Kaqchikel Mayan community leader
Barbara Surn Diaz, president of the Consejo Comunitario de Desarrollo (COCODE Community Development Council).
At 7:30 am last Wednesday October 29, Barbara Surin Diaz, a resident of the Cruz Blanca
community in San Juan Sacatepequez, was arrested in the Pillar I locality by a contingent of more
than 40 police officers, with one sole female officer, an event which was witnessed by a nine year
old girl who was opening a convenience store at the moment. The community leader was not
informed of the reason for her arrest and according to one graphic testimony, it was carried out with
excessive use of force that caused bruises on her right arm. It was not until her arrival at Mixco that
she was told she was being charged with the unsolved murder of a man killed last April 5 during a
job fair organized by the "San Gabriel" cement company. This legal process took place in absence
of a Kaqchiquel-speaking interpreter, which led to the first hearing being xpostponed until the
following day. That evening, Barbara Diaz was confined to a lockup, surrounded by men who kept
haranguing and verbally taunting her, as witnessed by newspaper correspondents present on the
scene and were also subjected to verbal and sexual harassment by those same parties.
At the initial hearing, on Thursday October 30, the community leader was bound to the legal
process by the Mixco trial judge, who also ruled for detainment throughout the duration of pretrial
investigation. This despite the fact that defense counsel requested that she be put under her house
arrest, given that she's a mother of 7 children, 3 of whom are still minors. Currently Barbara Surn
Diaz is being held in pretrial detention at the Centro Preventivo para mujeres Santa Teresita (Santa
Teresita Women's Prevention Center) while awaiting the next hearing, which will take place in
February 2015.
Barbara Diaz Surin, who twice has been elected president of COCODE, is one of the leaders of the
movement opposing the construction of the "San Gabriel" cement plant. As part of the conflict

opposing communities and the partnership between San Gabriel Cement and the Guatemalan
government, last September the government declared a State of Prevention and launched the
militarization of 4 communities.
The criminalization in Barbara Diaz's case is evident since her arrest comes just a few days, on
October 24, thousands of Kaqchikel Maya women of the Twelve Communities of San Juan
Sacatepequez took to the streets to publicly denounce more than a thousand cases of human rights
violations including violence and sexual assault, all of them having occured during the month and a
half of the State of Prevention and army presence in their communities.
Therefore, IM-Defensoras denounces:
- That during the arrest of the human rights defender she was subject to heavy attacks due to her
gender, and to inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment.
- Illegalities in the arrest process, as only one female member of the National Civil Police was
present compared to about 35 men amongst whom those retaining her caused bruising from
excessive use of force.
- That the human rights defender spent more than 24 hours before she could give her first testimony.
The declaration was not made before a competent judge, and to add to that there was no interpretor
to allow her to defend herself in her native language.
- That this criminalization process prevents the human rights defender from continuing her work in
defense of human rights, particularly land rights.
- This is part of the same thrust to repress social protest of Kakchiquel women from 12 communities
in San Juan Sacatepequez in defense of their and against abuses perpetrated against them by
military forces during the State of Prevention issued by the government.
And we demand from the Government of Guatemala:
- The competent authorities should deepen the investigation of the crime of which this human rights
defender and Indigenous leader is accused, since this situation is affecting her integrity causing
irreparable physical, psychological and family damage.
- The immediate release of Barbara Diaz Surin, an end to the criminalization process initiated
against her and that she be allowed to continue her work in defense of human rights, respecting and
recognizing the right to defend human rights as an autonomous right.
- That the agents responsible for committing arbitrary detention, violation of due process and
fundamental rights and excessive force in the arrest of the human rights defender Barbara Diaz
Surin be removed from office and sanctioned.
-That there be an immediate end to the State of Prevention in San Juan Sacatepequez, that those
responsible for crimes of sexual assault and violence reported by women in 12 communities be
identified and punished and that military forces leave the area and instead the stakeholders search
for conflict solutions based on consensus and dialogue.

That there be complete respect of the collective rights of communities over land and against the
imposition of business models and development projects that affect their health and survival in
compliance with agreements, treaties and agreements signed by the Guatemalan government and
national law.

"Our hearts are made of flowers, not concrete ..."

Red Nacional de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos en Guatemala (National Network of Women Human
Rights Defenders of Guatemala)
Defensoras de Nicaragua (Women Human Rights Defenders of Nicaragua)