A United Nations specialist has actually cautioned at the verdict of her two-week browse through that Guatemala’s district attorney’s workplace is significantly utilizing criminal legislation versus previous district attorneys, courts, defense lawyer, reporters and others
GUATEMALA CITY– A United Nations specialist cautioned Friday at the verdict of her two-week browse through that Guatemala’s district attorney’s workplace is significantly utilizing criminal legislation versus previous prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, journalists and others.
Margaret Satterthwaite, the U.N. Unique Rapporteur on the self-reliance of courts and legal representatives, took a trip the nation conference with courts, legal representatives, legislators and others, consisting of Guatemala’s primary district attorney.
” The important use criminal legislation by the District attorney General’s Workplace shows up to total up to an organized pattern of deliberate and serious deprival of basic civil liberties, targeted at details teams,” Satterthwaite created in her initial record. “This mistreatment seems escalating, as those that have actually looked for to finish immunity and corruption, protect civils rights, or speak up versus misuses of power significantly encounter electronic harassment, hazards, and criminal fees.”
The workplace is led by Consuelo Porras, that has actually been sanctioned by the United States and various other nations and implicated of being a barrier to corruption examinations.
Satterthwaite consulted with Porras and her personnel. They informed Satterthwaite that they acted legally, rejected utilizing criminal legislation to pursue opponents and claimed they were the actual sufferers of assaults by the executive branch and its allies, the U.N. specialist claimed.
” Wrongdoer fees have actually been guided at greater than 60 justice drivers and protection or civils rights legal representatives,” Satterthwaite claimed, keeping in mind that greater than 50 “justice drivers” have actually been pushed into expatriation by the district attorney’s workplace.
Porras’ workplace claimed later on that it did not concur with Satterthwaite’s initial record, since it did not show “the facility job that we do, neither the extensive details that was supplied.”
” We vigorously deny the concept of a ‘criminalization of markets,'” the workplace claimed. “Our activities are based upon severe, unbiased examinations that purely stick to the Guatemalan lawful structure.”
Head Of State Bernardo Arévalo hastried unsuccessfully to convince Porras to step down His workplace did not instantly reply to an ask for discuss Satterthwaite’s monitorings.
