No justice for peasants families of Curuguaty, Paraguay

Despite pointed irregularities in the process,  the Paraguayan court in charge of the emblematic Curuguaty case has recently declared eleven peasant farmers guilty. Together with several civil society organizations, FIAN International  expresses concern over the sentence and underlines the lack of investigation into the deaths of another eleven peasant farmers during the violent eviction in Curuguaty, Paraguay in 2012.

The “Curuguaty Massacre'” took place during the eviction of  landless peasant families who had occupied an area known as Marina Kue in the district of Curuguaty, on 15 June 2012. Seventeen people, six police officers and eleven peasant farmers, were killed during the violent eviction of the land. However in the public oral trial on this eviction, concluded on 11 of July this year, only the deaths of the police officers were addressed. 11 peasant farmers were declared guilty to prison terms between 4 and 30 years for the crimes of murder of 6 police, criminal association and invasion of property. To date, the Public Ministry has not conducted an investigation into the allegation of extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, death threats and physical and psychological torture of peasants during and after the forced eviction.

The UN High Commissioner on Human rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein expressed profound concern about the recent judgement. “The sentence of 11 peasants in the Curuguaty case after a trial that indicated to not have respected a due process is very worrying. In the past four years, several human rights mechanisms and civil society organizations have warned about serious irregularities in the investigation, including allegations of violations of due process and the right to defense, “said the High Commissioner. “I am also deeply concerned about the fact that so far the deaths of 11 peasants who were killed in the same incident, have not been investigated by the Paraguayan authorities, nor have been investigated the allegations that some of these farmers were summarily executed after having been subjected to torture and other human rights violations, “he added.

FIAN International reiterates that the Paraguayan government should:

• Carry out a thorough and impartial investigation of allegations of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detentions, death threats, and physical and psychological torture of peasants during and after the forced eviction of June 15, 2012, in Marina Kue, Curuguaty.
• Carry out a process to clarify the land titles of Marina Kue and guarantee the implementation of the agrarian reform process.
• Put an end to violent evictions and the criminalization of social movements.
• Respect and protect the human rights of peasant and indigenous communities, including their right to life, food, land and a dignified livelihood.

For more information, read about the criminalization of peasants in Paraguay and the case of Marina Kue

You can also take a look at the Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee from April 2013 on Paraguay