You might think that the only anti-impunity measure that Guatemala needs is to have a justice system that works. However, that is simple to say and very difficult to bring about after “agents or former agents of the State have… Read More ›
Justice
Edgar Fernando Garcia case – declassified US documents provide further insight
We reported earlier the breakthrough in the case of the disappearance of Edgar Fernando Garcia, a student and trades union activist who “disappeared” in 1984. A senior and an ex-police officer have been arrested, and warrants issued for the arrest… Read More ›
“I Will Not Yield”: Norma Cruz wins a Woman of Courage Award
Anyone with any interest in Guatemala cannot fail to be aware of the appalling wave of murders directed against women. While many more men are murdered each year the sadistic brutality with which women are often killed suggests a particular… Read More ›
Groundbreaking Arrest Made in Guatemalan Disappearance Case
In a break in one of Guatemala’s most notorious human rights crimes, a Guatemalan police officer has been arrested in connection with the abduction and disappearance 25 years ago of labor activist Édgar Fernando García. The arrest, on 5th March,… Read More ›
CICIG issues its First Report
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, better known by its Spanish initials CICIG, has now been operating for a year. It was created following an agreement between the United Nations and the Guatemalan government, charged with investigating clandestine organisations… Read More ›
Addressing the Crimes of the Past
The recent arrest and appearance of Radovan Karadzic in front of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has focussed attention again on a bitter, and recent, historical period in Europe. There have been plenty of articles in… Read More ›
Army Day or Remembrance Day?
The last day of June every year for the past 137 years has been marked as Army Day in Guatemala. For the previous 136 years this has also been the occasion for a military parade throughout the capital city. However,… Read More ›
Guatemala: Five Sentenced to 780 Years for Río Negro Massacre
"After three years of bureaucratic suspension and six months of hearings, five ex-civil patrollers were sentenced to 780 years in prison by the Sentencing Tribunal in the highland county of Salamá on May 28." "The massacre of Río Negro women… Read More ›
Genocide Case Witnesses Testify in Guatemalan Court
Source: CAIG and NISGUA Date: 04/24/2008 The historic hearings in the genocide case continue. To date, seven eyewitnesses from three regions (Baja Verapaz, Quiché, and Huehuetenango) have testified to Judge Eduardo Cojulun Sánchez in the genocide case hearings. Their excruciating… Read More ›
Good news – historic conviction against police agent
Historic verdict in case of police officer accused of raping a woman in custody. On 16 April this year something unprecedented happened in in El Quiche: a police officer was convicted of raping and abusing a woman held in custody…. Read More ›