2024-01-03 10:12:00
©JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images
Given the decision of a judge in Guatemala City to authorize the immediate release of Virginia Laparra, former prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) this Tuesday, January 3, Ana Piquer, director for the Americas of Amnesty International, declared :
“VIrginia Laparra should never have spent a day in jail. It is great news that she can be reunited with her loved ones after almost two years of being a prisoner of conscience. “His release is a first step toward ending the horrific human rights violations he has faced in retaliation for his outstanding work as an anti-corruption prosecutor.”
“We regret, however, that Virginia Laparra remains convicted for a crime she did not commit and that she faces another unfounded trial, due to the regrettable use of criminalization against dozens of people who, like her, have led the fight against impunity. Amnesty International reiterates its call for the Guatemalan authorities to immediately put an end to the misuse of criminal justice to harass, intimidate and punish judges, prosecutors, human rights defenders and journalists.”
On November 28, 2022, Amnesty International named the former prosecutor a prisoner of conscience, considering that her detention was solely due to her work defending human rights as head of FECI in Quetzaltenango, and requested her immediate and unconditional release. In May 2023, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that the former anti-corruption prosecutor’s detention was arbitrary and requested her immediate release. At the same time, the international mobilization of thousands of human rights activists regarding the case has not ceased.
“At Amnesty International we emphasize the importance of international pressure in cases like those of Virginia Laparra. Our movement in the Americas and around the world has not rested in demanding the release of the former prosecutor,” said Ana Piquer.
The unfounded criminal prosecution against Virginia Laparra is part of a context of attacks against dozens of people for their role in the investigation of prominent cases of large-scale corruption and human rights violations. In 2022, 3,754 attacks against human rights defenders took place and at least 73 justice operators, journalists and activists had to go into exile, according to data from the Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit of Guatemala (UDEFEGUA).
#release #Virginia #Laparra #triumph #injustice #Guatemala