This from the website of Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) in response to the arrest of lawyer, Claudia González.
On August 28, at the behest of Attorney General Consuelo Porras and on the order of Judge Jimi Bremer, police arrested attorney Claudia González, after conducting a 6:00 AM raid on her home. Police also raided the home of former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office (FECI), Juan Francisco Sandoval, where his elderly parents live, and the home of Siomara Sosa, bringing arrest warrants for each.
Claudia González is currently defending prisoner of conscience Virginia Laparra, who was arrested last year in apparent retaliation for her efforts to fight corruption as head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office in Quetzaltenango. González is also the attorney for Juan Francisco Sandoval, Eva Siomara Sosa, Leily Santizo, and other former prosecutors with FECI and with the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, a the UN-backed anti-impunity initiative forced to close in 2019 after years of prosecuting successful, high-level cases of corruption. González herself was a leading attorney with CICIG. González, like Sosa and Sandoval, is charged in today’s arrest warrant with “abuse of authority,” reportedly in connection with the case of Blanca Stalling, a Supreme Court judge prosecuted for pressuring a judge in a case involving Stalling’s son. After CICIG was forced out of Guatemala, Stalling in 2022 was reinstated as a judge and the charges against her were dropped.
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Judge Jimi Bremer has sent González to Mariscal Zavala prison, where she will be detained until at least September 6, when she is scheduled to make her initial appearance in court. She is at risk of being detained until her trial date.
You can read the full piece, with links, and an action you can take, here, Demand The Release Of High-Profile Lawyer Claudia González.
A Joint Statement was published on the WOLA website in response to the arrest demanding Freedom for Claudia González.
The undersigned international organizations condemn the criminalization, persecution and unfounded apprehension of human rights lawyer Claudia González Orellana, former official of the International Commission against Impunity (CICIG), trial lawyer and defender of criminalized anti-corruption prosecutors such as Juan Francisco Sandoval and Virginia Laparra.
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We call for the immediate release of Claudia González Orellana and for the State of Guatemala to comply with its international human rights obligations, to respect due process and to guarantee the integrity of this human rights lawyer.
You can read the full Statement, including the list of signatories, here, Freedom for Claudia González.
Categories: Accompaniment, Corruption, Criminalisation, Gender, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Justice, Solidarity in Action, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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