Prosecution over death of Quinto Inuma Alvarado seen as test of ability to curb attacks on environmental defenders
Five men are due to go on trial on Tuesday over the killing of an Amazonian Indigenous leader, in a legal case that could test whether Peru can hold perpetrators accountable for violence linked to illegal logging and drug trafficking in one of the world’s most dangerous regions for environmental defenders.
The Kichwa tribal leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado was killed on 29 November 2023, after repeatedly denouncing illegal activity within his community’s territory.
Prosecutors are seeking life sentences under charges of contract killing, a first in a case involving the death of an Indigenous environmental defender in Peru.
The trial will be closely watched by Indigenous groups, environmental advocates and international observers as a test of whether Peru can curb violence linked to illegal deforestation and drug trafficking in the Amazon, where community leaders who defend forests and land rights often face threats with little protection and few cases ever reach court.
