‘Weaving Justice with the 36 Maya Achi Women’ is a series of blog posts by The Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) in relation to the case of the wartime rape of Indigenous women, and the trial of five of those accused, currently taking place in Guatemala.
In the Search for Justice, 36 Maya Achi Women from the areas surrounding Rabinal, Baja Verapaz bravely broke the silence concerning crimes of sexual violence they experienced during the Internal Armed Conflict. Supported by the Rabinal Legal Clinic (ABJPR), testimonies for this case were first collected in 2011, after evidence from a case before the Inter American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) revealed possible crimes of sexual violence.
First arrests were made in 2018, however, several ex-civil-patrollers remained fugitives from justice until 2021. In January of 2022, 5 of the original 10 men accused will stand trial in the Criminal Sentencing Court for High-Risk Proceedings “A” presided by judge Yassmin Barrios.
In a mark of solidarity, daily updates, with photos, are being posted, and are available here, Weaving Justice with the 36 Maya Achi Women. As you might expect, some of the testimonies are extremely harrowing. This is a valuable resource, in English, on the trial’s progress.
You can read more on the background to the case, here In Guatemala, Ex-Paramilitaries Face Trial for Wartime Rape of Indigenous Women.
Categories: Accompaniment, Femicide, Gender, Genocide, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Indigenous peoples, Justice, Military, Solidarity in Action, Solidarity in Action/Guatemala, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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