Guatemala releases military officials convicted of grave crimes
Men have previously been convicted of crimes against humanity, including enforced disappearance and rape, by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
A Guatemalan appeals court overturned a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by ordering the release of three former senior military officers convicted of crimes against humanity.
In March, the regional human rights court suspended the release of the detainees “to avoid irreparable damage to the victims’ right of access to justice”.
Friday’s verdict was not the first time Guatemalan authorities have flouted court rulings – they have already been convicted 14 times before.
The men’s original conviction in 2018 actually came about as a result of a 2004 court conviction that punished decades of impunity in a case involving the enforced disappearance and aggravated rape of members of the Molina Theissen family.
But it was the first time the Guatemalan authorities had done this in a situation where prisoners already convicted of serious crimes were released.
It also came as watchdogs warned of deteriorating democracy and a growing embrace of authoritarian tendencies in Central America. In Guatemala, critics have gone so far as to accuse elites of attempting to “hijack Guatemala’s justice system” for political gain.
The military officials who won the appeals court decision are Francisco Luis Gordillo Martinez, Manuel Antonio Callejas y Callejas and Manuel Benedicto Lucas García.
In 2018, the men were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 33 to 58 years for crimes against humanity, the enforced disappearance of a 14-year-old boy and the rape of his sister.
Despite Friday’s decision, the men have still not been released from prison as they are still awaiting verdicts in two other trials against them for crimes of genocide and enforced disappearance.
Jovita Tzul, lawyer for the Molina Thiessen family, rejected the final decision of the appeals court as “a regrettable resolution, which causes serious setbacks in the human rights field”.