The Cuzco-based human rights organisation Derechos Humanos sin Fronteras (DHSF) has recently been accused of ‘aggravated defamation’ by the regional police of the Cuzco-Apurímac region, following publication by DHSF of alleged abuses by the police and security in the community of Alto Huacar, Espinar, near Antapaccay.

A number of families were apparently the target of their attack. According to DHSF’s account, ten people, all women, were injured on 3 April, when police and security staff from the mine attempted to evict families living on land earmarked for road building, required to expand copper operations at Antapaccay. The mine belongs to Glencore.

On 19 April, DHSF received an official letter from the director’s office of the police force in Cuzco notifying it of the defamation charges against it. According to the police, information posted on social media was not only defamatory but damaging to the prestige and constitutional standing of the police. The letter demanded that DHSF rectify the information it published within 72 hours.

Human rights organisations have reacted with concern to the news.