Guatemala: Carlos Choc, community journalist accused of instigating violence during protest against mining subsidiary of Solway Group, is released from prison
Prensa Comunitaria
"Journalist Who Reported Guatemalan Police Brutality is Released", 14 september 2022
...On Tuesday, the Puerto Barrios Criminal Court ordered the release of community journalist Carlos Choc, who had been wrongly accused of instigating violence during a demonstration against a transnational company.
Judge Anibal Arteaga dismissed the accusations that 13 National Civil Police (PNC) agents had filed against the journalist and 11 fishermen. The agents claimed to have been physically attacked by them during a demonstration in the El Estor municipality in October 2021.
At that time, the Indigenous communities were stationed on the road for several weeks to protest against President Alejandro Giammattei and the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN), which is a subsidiary of the Swiss mining company Solway Investment Group.
...Choc photographed when the Guatemalan security forces brutally repressed the villagers, who blocked the road to reject "Fenix", the largest active open pit mine in the country.
...[T]he mine's activities had been suspended by the Constitutional Court due to irregularities in its exploitation license. This was previously denounced by the Indigenous authorities...
This is not, however, the first time this Prensa Comunitaria journalist has been persecuted for carrying out his work. In 2017, Carlos Choc, another journalist, and 10 fishermen were also criminally charged...