Men charged with contract killing of Indigenous leader to go on trial in Peru | Peru

Five men are to go on trial Tuesday for the murder of an indigenous Amazon leader, in a court case that could test whether Peru can hold perpetrators accountable for violence linked to illegal logging and drug trafficking in one of the world’s most dangerous regions for environmental defenders.

The chief of the Kichwa tribe, Quinto Inuma Alvarado, was killed on November 29, 2023, after repeatedly denouncing illegal activities on the territory of his community.

Prosecutors are seeking life in prison for contract murder, a first in a case involving the death of an indigenous environmental defender in Peru.

The trial will be closely watched by indigenous groups, environmental advocates and international observers to determine whether Peru can curb violence linked to illegal deforestation and drug trafficking in the Amazon, where community leaders who defend forests and land rights often face threats with little protection and few cases go to court.

“My father was deeply committed to his land and his community,” said Kevin Arnol Inuma, 30. “Being a true conservationist requires a lot of sacrifice: walking through the forest, in the sun and in the rain, and exposing yourself to danger. »

Kevin said his father – originally from Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, in the San Martín region in the northern Peruvian Amazon – had received repeated threats for opposing illegal activities and was aware of the risks.

“He was telling us that one day they might kill him and that we had to be prepared,” he said.

Inuma’s killing follows years of official threats and warnings that went unheeded, according to Cristina Gavancho, a lawyer at the Lima-based Instituto de Defensa Legal, which has been supporting indigenous organizations and victims’ families since the killing.

Prosecutors say the suspects, believed to be illegal loggers, targeted Inuma because of his role in defending indigenous lands and reporting illegal activities to authorities.

The attack took place while Inuma was traveling by boat along a river route used to reach his community. He was shot during the ambush and fell into the river. Another community member was injured and survived.

Five of the six suspects initially charged will be tried. A sixth suspect was killed during an attempted arrest last year in which he attacked officers with a machete, Gavancho said.

Prosecutors say they have built a strong case, including forensic testing of gunshot residue and testimony placing the defendant at the scene at the time of the killing. Investigators also linked the suspects to individuals whom Inuma had repeatedly reported to authorities for illegal logging and drug trafficking.

If the court imposes life sentences, Gavancho said, it would mark an unprecedented result in Peru following the killing of an indigenous environmental defender. Advocates say a ruling of this type could send a strong signal that such crimes will no longer go unpunished in Peru and further afield in Latin America.

Although high-profile killings of environmental defenders in countries like Brazil, Honduras and the Philippines have led to arrests and prosecutions, advocates say these cases have rarely led to outcomes seen as setting lasting precedents. The 2022 assassinations in Brazil of British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira have led to multiple accusations but have yet to result in a decision widely seen as setting a precedent.

Legal experts say the Peruvian case could mark a rare break from what is seen as widespread impunity following attacks on indigenous environmental defenders.

Gavancho said: “This case is important because it is the opportunity for the Peruvian state to establish an exemplary sanction. »

At least 35 indigenous defenders have been killed in Peru over the past decade, according to indigenous organizations and human rights groups, including Global Witness.

The case also drew attention to the failure of Peru’s system to protect environmental defenders and indigenous people. Inuma had been granted security under a state protection mechanism created in 2021, but these measures were never implemented.