Paraguay Official Sentenced for Illegal Sale of Indigenous Lands, Faces Other Charges
Paraguay Official Sentenced for Illegal Sale of Indigenous Lands, Faces Other Charges
Rick Kearns
5/22/15
The former head of Paraguay’s Indigenous Institute was sentenced last month to six and a half years in prison for illegally selling indigenous land; and is also awaiting trial for allegedly stealing $700,000 from the Institute that had been earmarked for poverty relief and development following a judgement against the country from the Inter American Court of Human Rights.
A Federal Paraguayan Tribunal handed down the sentence of six and a half years against Ruben Quesnel on April 16 for the illegal sale of 61,776 acres to Julia Vargas, who has returned titles to the land to the Institute while Quesnel’s accomplice, notary Justina Esteche, received a two year sentence for her role in the crime.
Quesnel became head of the Institute (known as INDI) in 2012, not long after the coup that ousted former President of Paraguay Fernando Lugo. In November of that year Quesnel made the illegal sale of land belonging to the Cuyabia community of the Ayoreo people in the Chaco region, on which 19 indigenous families were living.
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Before the Prosecutors had filed charges against Quesnel for the illegal sale they had already started to investigate the allegations that Quesnel and some associates had stolen $700,000 from INDI that had been earmarked for food, medical goods, road and housing works for the impoverished Yakye Axa and Sawhoyamaxa communities. The theft and corruption charges were then registered against Quesnel in late 2013.
More:
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/05/22/paraguay-official-sentenced-illegal-sale-indigenous-lands-faces-other-charges-160424