Guatemala activist killed, day after court ruling on pollution dispute

GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemalan authorities say a social activist has been slain in a remote, rural town in the country’s north.

Prosecutors’ spokeswoman Julia Barreda confirms the death of 28-year-old Rigoberto Lima Choc. She says the investigation is ongoing and there are no suspects yet.

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Lima Choc was killed during the day Friday near a civil courthouse in Sayaxche, Peten department.

READ MORE: Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina resigns in face of fraud scandal

A day earlier, a court ordered the temporary closure of a company that grows palm trees for oil production.

The ruling came in response to a complaint by Lima Choc over the contamination of a local river known as the Rio de la Pasion.

Human rights activist Claudia Samayoa suggested that Lima Choc’s killing may be related to the dispute.