Panamanian organizations released a report documenting the rights violations and criminalization of activists during last year’s large-scale protests over First Quantum Minerals’ copper mine, Cobre Panamá. The report, "Human Rights Violations, Abuses, and Incidents Registered During the Protests Against the Mining Contract in Panamá, October-November 2023," was commissioned by the Foundation for Integral Community Development and the Conservation of Ecosystems in Panama (FUNDICCEP) and the Panamanian National Network in Defense of Water, and was conducted by journalists Rekha Chandiramani and Ana Teresa Benjamín M.
The report details:
- Over 20 interviews and first-hand accounts of the excessive use of force by the police against public university students, environmentalists, union members, and Indigenous people, among others;
- Hundreds of reported injuries and four deaths during the protests;
- More than 1,500 cases of arbitrary detentions;
- The ongoing criminalization and legal charges facing 21 activists, protesters, and community leaders for exercising their right to protest; and
- Punitive measures and acts of retaliation towards groups, such as teachers and other unions, that participated in nationwide strikes.