Seven Gualtemalan citizens who claim they were shot last year by security guards employed by Vancouver headquartered mining company Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX:THO) have filed a civil suit against Tahoe in B.C. Supreme Court.
The San Rafael Las Flores residents filed a civil action June 18 in B.C. Supreme Court against Tahoe, which owns the Escobal silver mine in Guatemala.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
The seven Guatemalan citizens allege that Alberto Rotondo, Tahoe’s head of security in Guatemala, gave an order to fire on the men, who were protesting the mine’s operation on April 27, 2013.
Matt Eisenbrandt, legal director for Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), which is representing the men in Canada, said the mine’s security force used buckshot, pepper spray and rubber bullets on the protestors. He said the protest had been peaceful.
One of the plaintiffs, who was 18 at the time, claims he has had to have surgery but still has breathing problems and lost his sense of smell.
Rotondo is facing criminal charges in Guatemala. Meanwhile, Eisenbrandt said his organization decided to support legal claim against Tahoe in Canada.
“We see this as a really important case where we think there are really strong and concerning allegations,” Eisenbrandt said.
He said citizens living near the mine have had ongoing concerns about the mine going forward without adequate public consultation.
While a number of similar suits in Ontario and Quebec have failed, three lawsuits against HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) for alleged abuses in Guatemala are going to trial in Ontario, and Eisenbrandt said a successful lawsuit could set a precedent for holding Canadian companies liable at home for events that occur outside of Canada.
“I think a victory in this case would definitely set a precedent,” Eisenbrand said.
The company believes the case to be “without merit and replete with factual errors,” according to Tahoe Resources vice-president Ira Gostin.
“Tahoe deplores violence of any kind in its communities, provides human rights trainings to all security providers and uses a Guatemala security company that is compliant with the (International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers),” he said in an email to Business In Vancouver.
“Tahoe is committed to conducting business honestly and ethically and to the social responsibility guidelines described in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the Equator Principles. These international standards are integrated into all facets of our business.”
