Guatemala: Dozens of human rights organisations express their solidarity with Ramón Cadena
Joint Statement – The Observatory
Joint Statement - Guatemala: Dozens of human rights organisations express solidarity with Ramón Cadena
22 October 2025 – The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT-FIDH) and other human rights organisations and associations in solidarity with Ramón Cadena, lawyer and human rights defender, call for an end to the criminalisation of human rights defence in Guatemala. #SolidarityWithRamónCadena
The undersigned human rights organisations address the Guatemalan authorities and national and international public opinion to express our deep concern and active solidarity ahead of the judicial hearing scheduled for 23 October 2025 against the lawyer and human rights defender Ramón Cadena Rámila, in the case labelled by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as “Botín Político USAC”. Mr Cadena has been criminalised for his legal advisory work with students defending the right to academic freedom, a process that, nearly two years after it began, still lacks a final resolution.
Mr Cadena and others linked to this case are due to appear on 23 October 2025 at 1:30 p.m. before the Tenth Court of First Criminal Instance of Guatemala, presided over by Judge Víctor Cruz. This is a preliminary hearing that could pave the way for criminal prosecution, in a context of judicial persecution and criminalisation clearly motivated by his work in human rights defence and legal support to university students.
Ramón Cadena, aged 70, is a prominent Guatemalan human rights lawyer, internationally recognised for his work in the defence of human rights, especially in cases related to the rights of Indigenous peoples and communities, land rights, and environmental justice. He served as Director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) for Central America for more than 14 years, supporting several human rights organisations and legal defence groups in Guatemala. In 2016, his home was raided as retaliation for his work as a lawyer and human rights defender. Subsequently, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted him precautionary measures (IACHR 661-16), which remain in force to this day.
On 16 November 2023, the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office issued 31 search warrants and 27 arrest warrants against students, academic staff, human rights defenders, and lawyers, for the alleged crimes of “aggravated usurpation on a continuous basis”, “depredation of cultural property on a continuous basis”, “sedition on a continuous basis”, and “illicit association”.
The criminal prosecution against Mr Cadena, alongside that of 27 other defenders, students, and professionals from academic and social sectors, constitutes a serious violation of the right to defend human rights, academic freedom, and the right to peaceful protest. It should be noted that this is not an isolated case but part of a systematic pattern of judicial persecution, reprisals, and criminalisation of human rights defence in Guatemala, which has led many defenders to situations of arbitrary detention or forced exile.
These patterns of persecution and instrumentalisation of the justice system have been documented and condemned by international bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2023, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights following his visit to Guatemala in February 2025, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers following her visit to Guatemala in May 2025.
The Observatory recalls that the criminalisation and political persecution of students, academic staff, researchers, and other members of the academic community who took part in the peaceful occupation of USAC in 2022 violates the Inter-American principles on academic freedom and university autonomy as recognised by the IACHR. It also violates the rights to freedom of association, freedom of expression, and the right to defend human rights, as enshrined in international instruments to which the Guatemalan State is a party.
In light of this key hearing, The Observatory calls on the Guatemalan authorities to:
Guarantee the effective, public, and procedurally fair conduct of the hearing on 23 October 2025, respecting judicial independence and due process.
Immediately revoke the arrest warrant against human rights defender Ramón Cadena and those issued against other human rights defenders for their role in legitimate social and academic processes.
Immediately cease the criminalisation and judicial persecution of Ramón Cadena, students, and all human rights defenders linked to the USAC case.
Definitively close this politically motivated criminal case aimed at intimidating those who exercise their right to defend rights.
Implement effective protection and comprehensive reparation policies for criminalised defenders, including guarantees of non-repetition and safe, dignified return pathways for those who have been forced to leave the country.
The world is watching closely what will happen on 23 October 2025.
International solidarity with Ramón Cadena and all human rights defenders in Guatemala. #SolidarityWithRamónCadena
Signatory organisations:
Afghanistan Democracy and Development Organization (Afghanistan)
Anti-Jindal & Anti-POSCO Movement (JPPSS) (India)
Asociación para una Ciudadania Participativa (ACI PARTICIPA) (Honduras)
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) (Cambodia)
Centro de Derechos Humanos Paso del Norte (Mexico)
Centro de Prevención Tratamiento y Rehabilitación de las Víctimas de la Tortura y sus Familiares CPTRT (Honduras)
Cátedra UNESCO de Desarrollo Humano Sostenible (Spain)
Comité des Familiares de Víctimas de los Sucesos de Febrero-Marzo de 1989 (COFAVIC) (Venezuela)
Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (Ecuador)
Comite de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos (Colombia)
Consejo del Pueblo Maya CPO (Guatemala)
Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos (Peru)
Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) (Regional)
Ethiopia Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC) (Ethiopia)
FIAN Germany (Germany)
Front Line Defenders (International)
Grupo belga Solidario con Guatemala (Belgium)
Human Rights Center Viasna (Belarus)
Human Rights Awareness Center (Nepal)
International Commission of Jurists - Commissioner Wilder Tayler (Uruguay)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (International)
Juristas Solidarios (Spain)
Justiça Global (Brazil)
Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (Mexico)
Movimiento Unificado Francisco Sánchez 1932 MUFRAS - 32 (El Salvador)
Otros Mundos Chiapas/Amigos de la Tierra México (Mexico)
Programa Venezolano de Educación Acción en Derechos Humanos (Venezuela)
Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ) (Argentina)
Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos Guatemala (UDEFEGUA) (Guatemala)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (International)
Women Protection Organisation (WOPO) (Nigeria)
Xumek (Argentina)
