Four men have been convicted of murder-for-hire and sentenced to between 15 and 35 years in prison for the November 2023 killing of Indigenous rainforest defender Quinto Inuma Alvarado. A Peruvian court delivered the verdict on Monday evening in a case that has been viewed as a significant test of accountability for violence against Indigenous and environmental defenders in the Amazon.
Genix Saboya Saboya and Limber Ríos Ruiz received the longest sentences, each sentenced to 35 years. Segundo Juan Villalobos Guevara, identified by prosecutors as a timber operator who ordered the killing, was sentenced to 28 years and four months. Jerly Saboya Saboya, convicted as an accomplice, received a 15-year sentence.
Inuma, a 50-year-old Kichwa leader, was shot and killed on November 29, 2023, while traveling by boat back to his community, Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, located in Peru’s San Martin region. He had been returning from a national meeting of environmental and land defenders. A woman traveling with him was wounded in the attack.
The ruling came nearly 1,000 days after Inuma's death. Tom Younger, Peru program coordinator at the Forest Peoples Programme, described the sentences as a "decisive step towards justice" and stated that they demonstrate that impunity for the killings of Indigenous defenders "is not inevitable."
Prosecutors argued that Inuma was targeted due to his efforts to halt illegal logging on his community’s land. They accused Villalobos, whom Inuma had previously denounced for illegal logging activities, of orchestrating the assassination, with the other defendants accused of planning and executing the attack.
Cristina Gavancho, a lawyer with the Lima-based Legal Defense Institute, who has supported Indigenous organizations and the victim's families, called the ruling an "exemplary sentence." She suggested that the lengthy prison terms could establish a significant precedent for other cases involving environmental defenders in Peru, noting it was the first case in the country involving the killing of an Indigenous defender to result in such severe sentences.
The trial commenced on January 20 and spanned nearly eight months. In March, judges traveled from Lima to the Amazonian city of Tarapoto for hearings that included testimony from Inuma’s relatives, other witnesses, and a survivor of the attack.
Inuma had dedicated years to denouncing illegal logging, drug trafficking, and territorial encroachment on his community’s land. According to the Legal Defense Institute, members of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu filed 13 complaints with prosecutors between 2016 and 2023 regarding environmental crimes and drug trafficking.
In 2021, Peru’s Justice Ministry had classified Inuma as being at high risk and ordered police protection for him and his brother. Local authorities had also granted him protection measures against illegal logging groups. However, police later stated they were unable to conduct preventive patrols in the remote territory due to funding limitations for boats and challenging geographical conditions, as cited in documents by the Legal Defense Institute.
Kevin Arnol Inuma, the murdered leader's son, expressed that his family received the verdict with a mix of happiness and sadness after a nearly three-year wait for justice. "Before, there was no response from the state, so they were not afraid to kill," he told The Associated Press. "Now this sets a precedent for Indigenous peoples, a precedent for environmental defenders."
Inuma's death highlighted the dangers faced by Indigenous individuals protecting forests and ancestral lands in Peru’s Amazon, a region experiencing incursions from illegal logging, drug trafficking, mining, and land grabbing into remote territories with limited state presence.
These dangers were underscored again just a day before Monday's verdict. Américo Pascuala Tomisha, a 57-year-old Ashéninka Indigenous leader and former head of the Onconashari Indigenous community, was shot and killed on Sunday while patrolling his community’s territory in the Ucayali region. According to the regional Indigenous organization ORAU, Pascuala confronted individuals allegedly extracting oil from copaiba trees within the community’s territory, leading to the confrontation and his death. ORAU reported that Pascuala had previously reported incursions by settlers and called for authorities to investigate his killing and enhance protection for Indigenous leaders.
Pascuala's killing occurred weeks after Asháninka communities along the Peru-Brazil border reported armed incursions into their territories. In July, Indigenous leaders in neighboring Brazil sought government protection after armed individuals entered their territory, threatened families, and searched for leaders. Brazil and Peru subsequently agreed to increase cooperation to protect Indigenous territories along their shared Amazonian border.
The court also ordered compensation payments: 750,000 soles (approximately $223,500) for Inuma’s legal heirs and 250,000 soles (approximately $74,500) for Axeldina Barbarán Tapullima, who was wounded in the attack. These payments would take effect if the ruling, which is subject to appeal, becomes final, according to Gavancho. The defendants have five days from receiving the court’s full written judgment to file an appeal.
Gavancho emphasized the significance of the ruling, not only for the prison terms but also for the compensation awarded to Inuma's family and the survivor. "I think this emblematic case can serve as a precedent for other cases involving environmental defenders in Peru," she stated.
However, Kevin Arnol Inuma expressed that his family still does not feel safe, fearing potential repercussions if the convicted individuals are eventually released. He noted his father's lifelong dedication to defending the community's territory, a responsibility now passed to his family and others. He hoped that families of other murdered defenders would not face such extended waits for justice and concluded, "Although they can no longer give us our family members back, we want justice for the other defenders whose cases are still going on. Now my father can rest in peace because justice has been done."