From Asunción del Paraguay, Goncálvez made reference to the different moments in the process that started on June 2012 with the “Curuguaty Massacre” and the recent mobilizations and protests by Paraguayan social organizations linked to the case, after the harsh and unfounded sentences against the peasants were made known.

“This situation is a disastrous precedent for peasant struggles, for social organizations and for the people who seek access to rights, such as the right to land enshrined in the Paraguayan Constitution”, said Carlos.

In Guarani, the first language used in Paraguay, there is the expression “oparei” which means “oblivion” or “to forget an event over time”. “Today, the Paraguayan people are mobilizing for this not to be left “oparei” (unpunished)” said the journalist, whose work has become a true record of these four years of trial.

The judicial ruling, which will be appealed by the defense attorneys, was read in its entirety on Monday, July 18. The reading took place in the framework of a mobilization at the judicial building, and the protests will continue since this case only focused on the death of the six police officers, but the death of 11 peasants during the violent events of June 15, 2012, were ignored.

Seven of the eleven peasants convicted were present during the reading. The other four were released last Tuesday since they had already done their time (four years) after having been preventively detained in 2012.

The Curuguaty massacre took place in June 2012 and resulted in the death of 17 people, six of whom were police officers. The events served as an excuse for the ousting of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo.

The trial over this case started a year ago, and only dealt with the death of the police officers, while the deaths of the 11 peasants during the massacre were never investigated by the Prosecutors.