Outrage as Guatemalan Maya spiritual guide is tortured and burned alive [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Domingo Choc Che’s final moments captured on video

Four suspects held after attack on indigenous elder

Jeff Abbott in Guatemala City

Wed 10 Jun 2020 05.14 EDT

Police in Guatemala have arrested two men and two women on suspicion of murder after a respected indigenous Maya spiritual guide was tortured, doused in gasoline and burned to death after being accused of witchcraft.

Domingo Choc Che, 55, an expert on traditional herbal medicine who had worked with researchers from University College London, was seized from his home in the village of Chimay on Saturday night by a group of people.

The abductors accused him of carrying out a ceremony on a family grave and tortured and beat him for more than 10 hours before setting him alight on Sunday morning, according to a local prosecutor. Three other suspects remain at large.

A widely shared video of his final moments shows Choc Che running in flames and begging for help before collapsing. Nobody comes to his assistance.

. . .

The 1996 peace accords for the first time recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples to their traditions and spirituality. But persecution continues against those who practice Maya spiritualism, which is often referred to as “witchcraft” by conservative Christian religious groups.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/10/guatemalan-maya-spiritual-guide-tortured-burned-alive