LIMA, Peru (AP) — Authorities in Peru say they have charged five men in the timber industry with the 2014 murders of four indigenous activists who had battled illegal logging in the Amazon jungle.

Prosecutors told The Associated Press on Wednesday that two timber executives and three loggers have been charged with the shooting deaths of the activists.

Environmentalists say the case is unprecedented in Peru, where years of illegal logging in remote areas and an ineffectual response from authorities has created a sense of impunity for those involved.

The Associated Press could not immediately contact the attorneys of the suspects for comment.

Tom Bewick of Rainforest Foundation US says the case offers some hope to indigenous leaders trying to defend their territories in Peru and other countries.