A project of the War Crimes Research Office of American University Washington College of Law
16 October 2020: Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez of High Risk Court “B” has determined that there is sufficient evidence to initiate a criminal trial against Francisco Cuxum Alvarado, who is accused of crimes against humanity and aggravated sexual assault against Maya Achi women in Rabin in 1981. 13 October 2020: Judge Gálvez denied a defense …
Continue reading Guatemala Domestic Court update: 7 – 21 October 2020
16 November 2020: The intermediate trial phase against former special forces soldier Gilberto Jordán for his alleged role in the Dos Erres massacre was set to begin on Tuesday, 17 November 2020. (Via IJMonitor).Jordán is charged with direct participation in 162 murders, as well as crimes against humanity and sexual assault.The Dos Erres massacre occurred …
Continue reading Guatemala Trials: Update for 4 – 18 November 2020
The prosecutor in the Emma Molina Theissen trial presents Emma’s prerecorded video statement before the High Risk Court “C.” In the video, Emma recounts how the Guatemalan military imprisoned her and her boyfriend, Julio César, in 1976 before killing César in 1980. She describes how military personnel captured her in Quetzaltenango in 1980, hoping to …
Former Guatemalan military dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt dies of a heart attack at the age of 91. In the 17 months that he ruled Guatemala after his 1982 military coup, Ríos Montt ran a military regime in which an estimated 200,00 people were killed, 83 percent of whom were indigenous citizens. After his 2013 …
Protected witness “G,” who was a member of the Guatemalan Workers’ Party along with Emma Molina Theissen, testifies via video conference. Witness “G” tells the court that days after Emma failed to arrive at a party meeting, he saw military intelligence officers driving her in a white Bronco in Quetzaltenango. He further states that these …
The high-profile Molina Theissen trial beings in Guatemala’s High Risk Court “C.” Five retired military officials face charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the 1981 detention, torture, and rape of Emma Molina Theissen and the enforced disappearance of her brother Marco. This case is significant because it will shed light on how the military …
Continue reading Guatemala: Trial begins for the Molina Theissen case
A bill presented to the Guatemalan Congress seeks to reform the Law of National Reconciliation (LNR) by creating a blanket amnesty for all combatants accused of international crimes such as genocide, torture, and other crimes against humanity. The proposal, signed by 13 members of Congress, aims to extend the LNR’s amnesty for political crimes to …
Continue reading Guatemala: Congressional bill proposes amnesty for all international crimes
Guatemala’s High Risk Court “C” schedules the trial of five retired military officers for March 1, 2018. The officers are charged with crimes against humanity for the illegal detention, torture, and rape of Emma Molina Theissen, a student activist, in 1981. The former officers also face charges for the disappearance of Marco Antonio Molina Theissen, …
Continue reading Guatemala: Trial date set for Molina Theissen case
Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reinstates the visa of Ivan Velásquez, the Commissioner of the UN-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), after revoking it on October 9th. In doing so, the Ministry warned Velásquez should “abstain from meddling in internal affairs.”
The re-trials of former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and his intelligence chief Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez begin after the previous trials were suspended on June 3, 2016. In separate proceedings, Ríos Montt and Rodríguez Sánchez face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for the killing of 1,771 indigenous Guatemalans in 1982. Due to Montt's dementia, …
Continue reading Genocide Trial Begins for Former Guatemalan Dictator Efraín Ríos Montt
International Criminal Law Updates 