The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Hudbay won't appeal a landmark ruling that allows lawsuits against the company to be tried in Canada even though they stem from alleged atrocities overseas. Hudbay lawyer Robert Harrison confirmed the decision in a recent e-mail, adding that the company 'is confident it will succeed on the merits' of its defense, the Canadian Press reports. Hudbay had initially argued that Canada was the wrong venue for the case given that the alleged crimes occurred in Guatemala. Cory Wanless, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told CP that Hudbay's decision allows the discovery phase of the case to proceed, with a trial still several years away. Hudbay faces three lawsuits alleging rapes, a murder and an unprovoked shooting by security forces at the Fenix nickel project in Guatemala. Two of the lawsuits _ those involving the alleged rapes and one murder _ together seek $67 million in damages from Hudbay. Financial details on the third lawsuit, for an unprovoked shooting, were unavailable. Eleven women claim that in 2007, they were gang-raped during evictions from Fenix. Their lawsuit seeks $55 million in compensation. The alleged rapes occurred before Hudbay was involved in Guatemala. In August 2008, HudBay merged with junior miner Skye Resources, now known as HMI Nickel, so it could own Fenix. A second lawsuit involves the alleged Sept. 2009 killing of Adolfo Ich, described by a media report as 'an indigenous community leader and an outspoken critic of Canadian mining activities in his community.' Ich was allegedly hacked and shot to death by security personnel employed at Fenix. This lawsuit seeks $12 million. The third lawsuit was filed by German Chub Choc, a man who claims he was paralyzed after being needlessly shot by a security worker at Fenix in Sept. 2009. Fenix is reportedly the site of a tense land dispute between local residents who illegally occupy the land and the companies that have sought to mine there. HudBay no longer owns the Fenix project, having sold it to a Russian company.
