The theft of a computer and hard-drive containing the names and stories of people who survived the war in El Salvador has human rights workers on edge. The break-in happened in Smith Hall, in the offices of the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights, or CHR.
UW’s Campus Police Department says sometime between October 14-18, Dr. Angelina Godoy’s desktop computer and an external hard drive were taken. Godoy is CHR’s Director. There was no sign of forced entry.
The stolen devices contain personal testimonies that are part of ongoing human rights investigations involving survivors of the war in El Salvador, a civil war that killed more than 75,000 people between 1980 and 1991. During the conflict the US provided military aid to the Salvadoran Government.
Earlier this month, the center filed a lawsuit against the CIA, requesting documents involving possible human rights violations. In a video on CHR’s website, Dr. Godoy talks about the kinds of information her office seeks.
“In some cases, information about the fates that befell lost lost loved ones. Other times, people are seeking information to recover the remains of lost loved ones and in some cases they’re seeking information that may be useful to them in broader efforts before the courts for justice,” said Godoy.
When CHR filed the lawsuit against the CIA it requested files containing details about a retired Salvadoran military officer, Sigifredo Ochoa Perez. CHR said witnesses report that Ochoa led an operation that resulted in the slaughter of dozens of civilians.
CHR’s office has backups of the information stolen from Godoy’s computer and hard drive, but Godoy is worried who else might now have the names and stories of survivors and whether these individuals will be targeted. Campus police are treating this as a basic case of theft. Investigators want to hear from anyone who might have information about the crime.
In a statement released by Godoy, she said, “We have contacted colleagues in El Salvador, many of whom have emphasized parallels between this incident and attacks Salvadoran human rights organizations have experienced in recent years. While we cannot rule out the possibility of this having been an incident of common crime, we are deeply concerned that this breach of information may increase the vulnerability of Salvadoran human rights defenders with whom we work.”
