LRWC joins international statement expressing concern over detention of Guatemalan lawyer Ramón Cadena Rámila
A prominent Guatemalan lawyer with extensive experience in human rights defence and strengthening the rule of law, between April 2022 and June 2023, Ramón Cadena provided legal advice to the student movement at the national University of San Carlos on matters related to the right to protest and university autonomy. In November 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and National Civil Police raided his office and issued an arrest warrant against him containing criminal charges that included sedition and illegal association.
The related proceedings have been marked by serious violations of due process, including multiple rescheduling of his initial hearing, in violation of his right to be tried in a reasonable time and to be heard by a competent, independent and impartial judge. Since his initial appearance in January 2025, following successive postponements, the latest postponement was until 27 January 2026.
Faced with these delays, Mr. Cadena appeared personally before the court on 10 November 2025, but he was arrested without the initial hearing being held and without the arrest warrant being lifted. He was subsequently transferred to prison, where he remained, with an initial hearing scheduled for 14 November 2025.
The international statement was issued prior to the hearing on Friday, 14 November 2025.[1] The signatories observe that the criminal proceeding appears to constitute a form of persecution related to his work as a human rights defender and the legitimate exercise of the legal profession.[2] This situation is part of a disturbing pattern of criminalization documented by a recent International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala.[3]
References
- Guatemala: 23 international organizations express concern over the detention of lawyer Ramón Cadena, 14 November, 2025, https://www.lrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/FINAL2025_11_14_Joint-statement_Detention-Ramon-Cadena_ext-version.pdf
- Guatemala: 23 international organizations express concern over the detention of lawyer Ramón Cadena, 14 November, 2025, https://www.lrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/FINAL2025_11_14_Joint-statement_Detention-Ramon-Cadena_ext-version.pdf; FIDH, Guatemala: Docenas de organizaciones de derechos humanos se solidarizan con Ramón Cadena, 22 October 2025, https://www.fidh.org/es/region/americas/guatemala/guatemala-docenas-de-organizaciones-de-derechos-humanos-se
- Lawyers for Lawyers, Press Release of Preliminary Findings of International Mission of Jurists for Guatemala, 4 November 2025, https://www.lawyersforlawyers.org/press-release-preliminary-findings-of-the-international-mission-of-jurists-for-guatemala/
