human rights defender
Jorge Coc Coc
Actions and Campaigns
© Asociación El Observador
Jorge Coc Coc
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Organization affiliation
- Comité Campesino de Desarrollo del Altiplano (CCDA)
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- Social and community leader
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Environmental rights
- Indigenous peoples’ rights
- Land rights
HRD's geographical origin
Rural
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
(AI translated) A Maya Q'eqchi indigenous leader and member of the Highlands Farmers Committee (CCDA).
He has been imprisoned on fabricated charges in an attempt to criminalize him, simply for defending the rights to his lands—lands that liberal and military governments have handed over to foreigners and entrepreneurs since the beginning of the liberal era.
The incident that led to his arrest occurred on July 13, 2017, when Leonardo Coc Ical was murdered and Edgar Gabriel Polom was wounded; both were members of the Chilté cooperative. Jorge Coc and Marcelino Xol were arrested in 2018 and taken to the Cobán Pretrial Detention Center for Men and Women. They were sentenced to 35 years in prison, with no possibility of reduction, for the charges of homicide and attempted homicide.
The trial of Jorge and Marcelino was marked by serious violations of due process. Sixteen arrest warrants were issued on July 13, 2017, targeting residents of the community, without specifying the exact facts or charges. In the end, only Jorge and Marcelino were convicted, despite the fact that both defense attorneys presented witnesses who stated that they were not at the community at the time of the incident.
On January 16, 2018, Jorge Coc Coc was arrested and claimed that he had been at his home in Las Pacayas, located 40 minutes away from the Choctun Basilá community, taking care of his sick father on the day of the incident.
On September 30, 2019, Marcelino Xol and Jorge Coc were convicted by the Second Criminal, Narcotics, and Environmental Crimes Tribunal of Alta Verapaz Department, in a trial presided over by a single judge. They were convicted of homicide in a case where the victim suffered only one bullet wound—a circumstance that made the crime technically impossible to commit. During the trial, no ballistics examination was conducted; the verdict failed to address the specific details of the case and lacked any evidence to support it. Moreover, they were held in pretrial detention for an excessive length of time, remaining in prison since 2018 without even beginning to serve their sentence.
In August 2024, they were transferred from the Cobán pretrial detention center in Alta Verapaz to the rehabilitation center in Puerto Barrios, Izabal—a place far away from their families.
Detained since
Jan 16, 2018
Charge(s)
- Other
Sentence
(AI translated) On October 30, 2019, they were sentenced by the Second Criminal, Narcotics, and Environmental Crimes Court of the Alta Verapaz Department, located in Cobán and presided over by Judge Luis Alejandro Paniagua Herrera in a single-judge trial. They were found guilty of one charge of homicide and two charges of attempted homicide, and were sentenced to 15 years in prison for the first crime, 10 years in prison for the second crime, and another 10 years in prison for the third crime, resulting in a total sentence of 35 years in prison.
Latitude: 15.715637512619375
Longitude: -88.59052062034607
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean
Location of detention - City/Town
Puerto Barrios, Izabal
Location of detention - Facility
Centro de Rehabilitación Departamental
Recent case update / evolution
(AI translated) In August 2024, he was transferred from the prevention center in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, to the rehabilitation center in Puerto Barrios, Izabal, far away from where his family lives.
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's Gender
- Man
- Type of HRD
- Social and community leader
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Environmental rights
- Indigenous peoples’ rights
- Land rights
- Organization affiliation
- Comité Campesino de Desarrollo del Altiplano (CCDA)
- HRD's Picture
- Copyright
- Asociación El Observador
- HRD's bio and work
(AI translated) A Maya Q'eqchi indigenous leader and member of the Highlands Farmers Committee (CCDA).
He has been imprisoned on fabricated charges in an attempt to criminalize him, simply for defending the rights to his lands—lands that liberal and military governments have handed over to foreigners and entrepreneurs since the beginning of the liberal era.
The incident that led to his arrest occurred on July 13, 2017, when Leonardo Coc Ical was murdered and Edgar Gabriel Polom was wounded; both were members of the Chilté cooperative. Jorge Coc and Marcelino Xol were arrested in 2018 and taken to the Cobán Pretrial Detention Center for Men and Women. They were sentenced to 35 years in prison, with no possibility of reduction, for the charges of homicide and attempted homicide.
The trial of Jorge and Marcelino was marked by serious violations of due process. Sixteen arrest warrants were issued on July 13, 2017, targeting residents of the community, without specifying the exact facts or charges. In the end, only Jorge and Marcelino were convicted, despite the fact that both defense attorneys presented witnesses who stated that they were not at the community at the time of the incident.
On January 16, 2018, Jorge Coc Coc was arrested and claimed that he had been at his home in Las Pacayas, located 40 minutes away from the Choctun Basilá community, taking care of his sick father on the day of the incident.
On September 30, 2019, Marcelino Xol and Jorge Coc were convicted by the Second Criminal, Narcotics, and Environmental Crimes Tribunal of Alta Verapaz Department, in a trial presided over by a single judge. They were convicted of homicide in a case where the victim suffered only one bullet wound—a circumstance that made the crime technically impossible to commit. During the trial, no ballistics examination was conducted; the verdict failed to address the specific details of the case and lacked any evidence to support it. Moreover, they were held in pretrial detention for an excessive length of time, remaining in prison since 2018 without even beginning to serve their sentence.
In August 2024, they were transferred from the Cobán pretrial detention center in Alta Verapaz to the rehabilitation center in Puerto Barrios, Izabal—a place far away from their families.
- HRD's geographical origin
- Rural
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Americas: Latin America and the Caribbean
- Location of detention - City/Town
- Puerto Barrios, Izabal
- Location of detention - Facility
- Centro de Rehabilitación Departamental
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 15.715637512619375
Longitude: -88.59052062034607
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Jan 16, 2018
- Current Status
- In prison (sentenced)
- Charge(s)
- Other
- Sentence
(AI translated) On October 30, 2019, they were sentenced by the Second Criminal, Narcotics, and Environmental Crimes Court of the Alta Verapaz Department, located in Cobán and presided over by Judge Luis Alejandro Paniagua Herrera in a single-judge trial. They were found guilty of one charge of homicide and two charges of attempted homicide, and were sentenced to 15 years in prison for the first crime, 10 years in prison for the second crime, and another 10 years in prison for the third crime, resulting in a total sentence of 35 years in prison.
- Recent case update / evolution
(AI translated) In August 2024, he was transferred from the prevention center in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, to the rehabilitation center in Puerto Barrios, Izabal, far away from where his family lives.
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
(AI translated) The Indigenous Peoples’ Legal Center filed an extraordinary appeal for cassation with the Supreme Court of Justice. In December 2021, a public hearing was held on this appeal, which took place on July 12, 2022. Finally, in November 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that the appeal was not admissible, upholding the original sentence of 33 years in prison.
On November 17, 2022, the Indigenous Peoples’ Legal Center filed a constitutional protection lawsuit with the Constitutional Court against the decision of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division. The Constitutional Court accepted the lawsuit and ordered the Criminal Division to submit relevant case records or a detailed report on the facts. However, this constitutional protection action was ultimately dismissed in 2023.
In November 2022, the Indigenous Peoples’ Legal Center submitted another complaint, seeking to have the case re-examined.
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
Supporting files
sorted by
Date added
4 relationships, 3 entities