Following public statements by the President and Minister of Defence of Guatemala, AI is seriously concerned about the safety of the three leading human rights defenders named above. In their statements, the President and Defence Minister accused them of having links with the guerrillas. There are documented cases of those accused by government representatives of having links with the armed opposition becoming the victims of human rights violations. Ronalth Ivan Ochaeta Argueta is the director of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishopric of Guatemala; Amilcar Mendez Urizar is the president of the Council of Ethnic Communities “We are all equal”; Factor Mendez Doninelli is the director of the Centre for the Investigation, Study and Promotion of Human Rights.
