Rodolfo Abarca Quispe
Rodolfo Abarca Quispe is a farmer, musician and human rights defender from Cotabambas, Apurímac. From his community, he works in the defence of the right to a healthy environment for everybody.
He served as President of the Tambobamba Defence Front during the 2015 protests facing the impact of the activities of the Las Bambas mine, where he demanded access to justice and dignified conditions for the communities affected by the mining project in his district.
Due to his leadership and human rights work, he was subjected to persecution and criminalisation, and was unjustly sentenced to nine years in prison. The Court also ordered him, along with a group of other criminalised defenders, to pay a civil reparation fine which collectively amounted to 50,000 Peruvian sol for the State and 88,600 U.S. dollars for the Las Bambas mining company.
While many human rights defenders (HRDs) can operate freely in Peru, those working on the environment, in particular on the environmental and human rights impact of the extractive industry, face harsh repression, including intimidation, smear campaigns, death threats, surveillance, and judicial harassment. Journalists and trade unionists have also been targeted.
