BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) 鈥� A Peruvian court on Monday evening convicted four men of murder-for-hire and sentenced them to between 15 and 35 years in prison for the 2023 killing of Indigenous rainforest defender , in a closely watched case seen as a test of accountability for violence against Indigenous and in the Amazon.
Genix Saboya Saboya and Limber R铆os Ruiz were each sentenced to 35 years in prison. Segundo Juan Villalobos Guevara, a timber operator whom prosecutors accused of ordering Inuma鈥檚 killing, was sentenced to 28 years and four months. Jerly Saboya Saboya, who was convicted as an accomplice, was sentenced to 15 years.
Inuma, a 50-year-old Kichwa leader, was shot and killed on Nov. 29, 2023, as he traveled by boat back to his community, Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, in 鈥檚 northern Amazonian region of San Martin. He was returning from a national meeting of and land defenders. A woman traveling with him was also shot and wounded.
The ruling came nearly 1,000 days after Inuma鈥檚 killing. Tom Younger, Peru program coordinator at the Forest Peoples Programme, called the sentences a 鈥渄ecisive step towards justice鈥� and said they showed that impunity for killings of Indigenous defenders 鈥渋s not inevitable.鈥�
Prosecutors said Inuma was targeted because of his efforts to stop illegal logging on his community鈥檚 land. They accused Villalobos, whom Inuma had denounced over illegal logging, of ordering the killing and the other men of planning and carrying out the attack.
Cristina Gavancho, a lawyer with the Lima-based Legal Defense Institute who has accompanied Indigenous organizations and the victims鈥� families since Inuma鈥檚 killing, called the ruling an 鈥渆xemplary sentence鈥� and said the lengthy prison terms could set an important precedent for other cases involving environmental defenders in Peru.
Gavancho said it was the first case in Peru involving the killing of an Indigenous defender to result in sentences this severe.
Inuma had repeatedly warned authorities of threats
The trial began Jan. 20 and continued for nearly eight months. In March, judges traveled from Lima to the Amazonian city of Tarapoto for three days of hearings, where they heard testimony from Inuma鈥檚 relatives, other witnesses and a survivor of the attack.
Inuma had spent years denouncing illegal logging, drug trafficking and encroachment on his community鈥檚 territory. Between 2016 and 2023, members of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu filed 13 complaints with prosecutors over environmental crimes and drug trafficking, according to the Legal Defense Institute.
Peru鈥檚 Justice Ministry classified Inuma as being at high risk in 2021 and ordered police protection for him and his brother. Local authorities also granted him protection measures against illegal logging groups. But police later acknowledged they were unable to carry out preventive patrols in the remote territory because they lacked money for boats and faced difficult geography, according to documents cited by the Legal Defense Institute.
Kevin Arnol Inuma, the murdered leader鈥檚 30-year-old son, said his family received the verdict with a mixture of happiness and sadness after waiting nearly three years for justice.
鈥淏efore, there was no response from the state, so they were not afraid to kill,鈥� he told The Associated Press on a phone call just after the verdict. 鈥淣ow this sets a precedent for Indigenous peoples, a precedent for environmental defenders.鈥�
Another Indigenous leader killed a day before verdict
Inuma鈥檚 death became emblematic of the dangers faced by Indigenous people protecting forests and ancestral lands in , where illegal logging, drug trafficking, and land grabbing have pushed into remote territories with limited state presence.
Those dangers were underscored again just a day before Monday鈥檚 verdict. Am茅rico Pascuala Tomisha, a 57-year-old Ash茅ninka Indigenous leader and former head of the Onconashari Indigenous community, was shot dead Sunday while patrolling his community鈥檚 territory in Peru鈥檚 Amazonian Ucayali region, according to the regional Indigenous organization ORAU.
ORAU said Pascuala encountered outsiders allegedly extracting oil from copaiba trees inside the community鈥檚 territory and was shot after a confrontation. The organization said he had previously reported incursions by settlers and other outsiders and called on authorities Monday to investigate his killing and strengthen protection for Indigenous leaders.
Pascuala鈥檚 killing came weeks after along the Peru-Brazil border raised alarms about armed incursions into Indigenous territories. In July, Indigenous leaders in neighboring Brazil sought government protection after five men carrying machine guns entered their territory, threatened families and searched for community leaders. Brazil and Peru to increase cooperation to protect Indigenous territories along their shared Amazonian border.
Family says risks remain despite convictions
The court also ordered 750,000 soles (about $223,500) in compensation for Inuma鈥檚 legal heirs and 250,000 soles (about $74,500) for Axeldina Barbar谩n Tapullima, who was wounded in the attack. The payments would take effect only if the ruling, which can be appealed, becomes final, Gavancho said. The defendants have five days after receiving the court鈥檚 full written judgment to file an appeal.
For Gavancho, the ruling was significant not only because of the prison terms but also because of the compensation the court recognized for Inuma鈥檚 family and the woman who survived the attack.
鈥淚 think this emblematic case can serve as a precedent for other cases involving environmental defenders in Peru,鈥� Gavancho said.
But Inuma said his family still does not feel safe and fears what could happen if those convicted were eventually freed.
His father, he said, had spent years defending the territory that earlier generations had left to the community, and that responsibility had now passed to his family and others.
He said he hoped other families of murdered defenders would not have to wait as long for their cases to move through Peru鈥檚 justice system.
鈥淎lthough they can no longer give us our family members back, we want justice for the other defenders whose cases are still going on,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow my father can rest in peace because justice has been done.鈥�
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