UK mining firm in court over claims it mistreated environmental activists

[Judi Lynn]

Peruvian lawsuit in London claims Xstrata should be liable for alleged police violence against demonstrators near Tintaya mine
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
@owenbowcott
Tuesday 31 October 2017 15.24 EDT

A UK-registered mining company, which is now part of Glencore, is facing claims in a London court that it hired security forces to mistreat environmental activists protesting about a copper mine in Peru.

Two demonstrators died and others were left with serious injuries following the confrontations which lasted for several days during May 2012 on a remote hillside in the Andes, the court has been told.

. . .

The court has also been told that in the run-up to the protests in 2012 the mining company “covertly monitored” community meetings and employed informants, sharing its intelligence with the police.

During the fighting, it is said, private security officers employed by the mine wielded metal bars and planks of wood. Some protesters allegedly were shot, others beaten on the head or on the soles of their feet. In one clash, the court was told, police fired machine guns and shotguns.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/oct/31/uk-mining-firm-in-court-over-claims-it-mistreated-environmental-activists



Tintaya mine