Chief of security at Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals’ Guatemalan mine arrested for murdering Mayan community leader

Toronto, Canada – Almost three years to the day after the brutal slaying of community leader Adolfo Ich at Hudbay Minerals’ mining project in Guatemala, Guatemalan authorities finally arrested the former chief of security of the mine, Mynor Padilla, on charges of murder and attempted murder.

“While this is an important first step towards justice for Mayan communities harmed by Hudbay’s mining project, Hudbay has not yet been held to account and Canadian human rights lawsuits against Hudbay over the same allegations” continue in Ontario courts.

““Astonishingly, Hudbay continues to argue that mine personnel were not involved in the murder, despite the fact that the brutal attack happened in broad daylight in front of witnesses who say Mr. Padilla was at the centre of an attack committed by a dozen mine security personnel,”” said Murray Klippenstein, Canadian lawyer for Mr. Ich’s widow.

““It is time for Hudbay to own up to what happened on its watch at its mining project. Now that the man that Hudbay allowed to be put in charge of security has been arrested for murder, we hope Hudbay changes its unsupportable position, makes amends, and takes real, concrete steps to ensure that similar severe human rights abuses never again are committed at one of its projects.””

It is alleged that Mr. Padilla was on duty as chief of security at the Canadian controlled mine when he, together with other security personnel, surrounded, beat, hacked and finally shot Mr. Ich in the head in an unprovoked attack. On the same day, Mr. Padilla is also alleged to have shot and paralyzed German Chub in a similar unprovoked attack. Shockingly, Hudbay has confirmed that its subsidiary continued to employ and pay Mr. Padilla for at least a year after the murder while he was a fugitive from justice.

Hudbay continues to face three related corporate accountability lawsuits in Ontario courts which allege that poor management and oversight by Hudbay and its predecessor corporation led to the killing of Mr. Ich, the shooting of Mr. Chub, and the gang rapes of 13 Mayan women committed by mine company personnel at the Canadian owned and controlled mine.

““We hope that Mr. Padilla is swiftly brought to justice,” said Mr. Klippenstein. “But as a Canadian company, HudBay still needs to answer in Canadian courts the allegations of human rights abuse at its mines”.”

The first major hearing in the Canadian lawsuits is expected in March 2013.

For more information about the lawsuits, see www.chocversushudbay.com

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KLIPPENSTEINS
Barristers & Solicitors
Contact: Murray Klippenstein
1-416-598-0288 (Office)
1-416-937-8634 (Cell)

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IN MEMORIAM: ADOLFO ICH CHAMÁN – THREE YEARS ON

Multimedia Presentation, by James Rodriguez

On this occasion I share a special multimedia in commemoration of the third anniversary of the murder of Adolfo Ich Chamán. Mr. Ich Chamán was brutally murdered by Mynor Padilla, head of security of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN), then-owned by HudBay Minerals, a Canadian mining company. Prensa Libre reports that Civil National Police forces have captured Mynor Padilla on the eve of the third anniversary of Ich Chamán’s murder.

The following slideshow contains music played by Adolfo Ich himself. The Ich-Choc family provided the audio file to MiMundo.org: http://www.mimundo.org/2012/09/27/2012-09-in-memoriam-adolfo-ich-chaman/

To read MiMundo.org photo essays related to the case: http://www.mimundo.org/?s=el+estor+la+union