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Human Rights Watch condemned the raid today on the home of a human rights defender in Guatemala.

The rocks may have been intended as a reminder of the weapon used on April 26, 1998, to assassinate Bishop Juan José Gerardi, the founder of the human rights office, in a crime still unsolved by the authorities. Gerardi was slain only days after publicly releasing a four-volume study of human rights atrocities committed by all parties to Guatemala's three-decade armed conflict.
"We are shocked and outraged to learn of this terrible threat," stated José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. "The government should be ashamed that nearly one year after the assassination of Bishop Gerardi, his murder remains unsolved and his staff face such serious threats."

Vivanco urged the government to undertake an urgent investigation into today's raid and to prosecute and punish those found responsible. He also urged the authorities to view the first anniversary of Bishop Gerardi's murder as an occasion to redouble efforts to solve that terrible crime.

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