In response to the court’s decision to grant alternatives to pretrial detention to prisoners of conscience and former ancestral authorities of Totonicapán’s 48 Cantons, Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán, Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said:
“We welcome the fact that Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán will be able to return to their families and communities after being unjustly deprived of their liberty for more than a year. The decision to grant them alternatives to pretrial detention represents an important step forward for their rights and brings relief to them, their loved ones and all those who never stopped demanding justice.”
We welcome the fact that Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán will be able to return to their families and communities after being unjustly deprived of their liberty for more than a year. ”
Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International
“However, the two leaders will not be released immediately. The measure is conditional on each of them paying bail of 160,000 quetzales, meaning that they will remain deprived of their liberty until this requirement is met. In practice, a sum of this magnitude could become an obstacle to implementing the court’s decision.”
Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán were imprisoned for peacefully exercising their human rights and carrying out the leadership roles entrusted to them by their communities. They were held in pretrial detention after being arrested in April 2025 on charges related to the nationwide protests of 2023. In May 2026, Amnesty International designated them prisoners of conscience after concluding that they were being persecuted for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Although the decision will allow them to return to their loved ones while the proceedings continue, it does not remedy the human rights violations they experienced during their detention, and their release will not be immediate. Their prolonged imprisonment, unjustified delays in the proceedings and restrictions on the full exercise of their rights remain matters of concern that the authorities must address.
Furthermore, the continuation of the criminal proceedings against them perpetuates the risk of criminalisation faced by those who exercise community leadership, take part in peaceful protests or defend the rights of their peoples. The Guatemalan authorities must ensure that the justice system is not used to punish the legitimate exercise of human rights.
“The release of Luis and Héctor must serve to reaffirm a fundamental principle: peacefully exercising human rights must never be grounds for punishment. The Guatemalan authorities must protect peaceful protest, respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and ensure that community authorities can carry out their work without fear of criminalisation,” concluded Ana Piquer.
The release of Luis and Héctor must serve to reaffirm a fundamental principle: peacefully exercising human rights must never be grounds for punishment. ”
Ana Piquer, Americas Director at Amnesty International
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