PBI-Guatemala accompanies Maya Kaqchikel journalist Norma Sancir to hearing, next court date set for July 5

On June 7, PBI-Guatemala posted: “Today PBI accompanied Norma Sancir to an audience in Chiquimula that was once again suspended. On this occasion for a medical excuse from one of the defending lawyers of 4 PNC [National Civil Police] officers.”

PBI-Guatemala adds: “Three women and a man are accused of unlawful detention of the communicator and abuse of authority during an eviction in Camotan 7 years ago.”

The hearing was to determine if PNC agents Olga Leticia Segura, Marcelina López Pérez, Mirna Marleny Ortiz and former commissioner Ceferino Salquin go to trial for abuse of authority and illegal detention of Sancir.

Sancir’s lawyer Jovita Tzul comments: “We are concerned about this malicious form of delay that the defense is implementing. This is the seventh time the hearing has been adjourned; these are malicious strategies to delay the search for justice in the journalist’s case.”

The next hearing is now scheduled for July 5.

Sancir was detained by police on September 18, 2014, while covering a mobilization of the Ch’orti ‘people in Camotán, Chiquimula. She was not released until September 22, 2014.

Sancir is a journalist with Prensa Comunitaria and a social communicator with the ‘New Day’ Ch’orti’ Campesino Central Coordinator (CCCND).

The CCCND supports the struggles of Ch’orti’ communities in the region of Chiquimula who face threats and violations to their land, environmental, and cultural rights.

When Sancir visited Quebec in May 2018, she told Radio Canada Internacional: “Freedom of information will exist when they let us tell the truth. We believe that freedom of expression should not be exclusive for the benefit of journalists working in the major media or for an editorial line.”

PBI-Guatemala has accompanied the ‘New Day’ Ch’orti’ Campesino Central Coordinator (CCCND) since 2009.