"Peruvian court sentences four men over murder of Kichwa leader and Indigenous Amazon defender Quinto Inuma Alvarado", 25 August 2026

...A Peruvian court has convicted four men of murder-for-hire and handed down prison sentences of between 15 and 35 years for the killing of Kichwa forest defender Quinto Inuma Alvarado, apu (leader) of the community of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu in the San Martin region of the Peruvian Amazon. 

The Third National Criminal Court of Appeal awarded civil damages of one million Peruvian soles (approximately US$298,000) to the Inuma family and Axeldina Barbarán Tapullima, a survivor of the attack...

Genix Saboya Saboya and Limber Ríos Ruiz were each sentenced to 35 years in prison. Segundo Juan Villalobos Guevara, a timber operator whom prosecutors accused of ordering the killing, received 28 years and four months, while Jerly Saboya Saboya, convicted as an accomplice, received 15 years...

For apu Quinto’s family, community and allies, the sentences mark an important and hard-won step towards justice, but they do not erase the failure of state protection that preceded his death. ..

“It is therefore essential that the appeal courts uphold the judgement and ensure justice and redress for the victims,” she said. 

The case has also exposed the violence facing Indigenous communities seeking recognition and protection of their collective lands and resources...