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In August, an appellate court in Peru annulled the 28-year prison sentences against two logging businessmen who were found guilty of masterminding the murder of four Indigenous leaders
on the Peru-Brazil border in 2014. The judges argued a lack of evidence
and procedural errors in the initial decision, which took seven years of legal battles to achieve, and sent the case back to the beginning.
The Asháninka leaders Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintisima, and Francisco Pinedo were killed for defending their territories and rainforest from illegal logging, an illicit activity that threatens Indigenous peoples’ lives and culture. Even though they repeatedly denounced the death threats they received
from clandestine logging mafias, the Peruvian government failed to
provide the necessary protection. Their murders forced the world to
finally recognize their struggle for their rights and environment and ultimately resulted in the legal recognition of their territory, after decades of waiting.
The court's decision is a strong affront to justice, memory, and the dignity of the victims and their families, who now face yet another chapter of legal strife and uncertainty.
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