Before the judges of the Pérez Zeledón Criminal Court in that capital, the main suspect in the murder of Rivera in the indigenous area of Térraba in Buenos Aires, in the province of Puntarenas, said: “Judge, I would like you to incorporate the testimony I gave last time made (investigation before the public prosecutor’s office) and I will expand on them later.
The accused limited himself to saying that he lives in a free union, has four minor children and is committed to farming, according to the evening news of Telenoticias channel 7.
At the beginning of the trial, prosecutors charged Varela Rojas with the crimes of aggravated manslaughter, aggravated threats and illegally carrying a permitted weapon.
In August 2022, this prime suspect confessed to the murder at a meeting between the Inter-Agency Technical Table for the Consideration of Indigenous Affairs of the Ministry of Justice and the Multiethnic and Pluricultural Association of the Region, held at the Rogelio Fernández School in Buenos Aires .in Puntarenas.
Varela Rojas requested the floor and said that “there was a lot of talk in the Legislative Assembly about the Yehry Rivera case. I don’t know if you know: I was the one who killed him. I want them to see why I killed him. I am an indigenous Boruca”.
And he continued: “Why did what happened happen? This person (Rivera) went with 13 subjects to burn my house with Molotov cocktails, so I did it and when my brother came to help me to defend me, he grabbed him with a knife. I arrived and told him let it be; He didn’t let go and came over me, so I had to do the action I did ».
The trial began because the Criminal Court of Buenos Aires, Puntarenas, granted the prosecutor’s request in October 2021.
A day after the killing, the National Front of the Indigenous Peoples (Frenapi) of Costa Rica blamed the state for the assassination of the Brörán indigenous leader, while the United Nations demanded the return of the land to the original peoples.
“From this front we have repeatedly denounced the systematic violence with which the state/government of Costa Rica acts, despite the existence of precautionary measures… All this violence has remained and remains unpunished. The murder of colleague Jerhy (45 years old and two children) is the latest evidence,” the statement said.
For her part, then-resident United Nations Coordinator for Indigenous Peoples in Costa Rica Alice Shackelford wrote on her Twitter account @aliceshackel: “! We cry out for the murder of young Jerhy Rivera. Justice, security and the return of land to tribal peoples are vital! Leave no one behind!”
jcm/ale