Expert Witnesses Receive Death Threats after Guatemala Massacre Trial, Says Amnesty International

[Judi Lynn]

August 12, 2011
12:28 PM
CONTACT: Amnesty International - USA

AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194
Expert Witnesses Receive Death Threats after Guatemala Massacre Trial, Says Amnesty International

WASHINGTON - August 12 - Four staff members of a forensic anthropology team in Guatemala have received death threats after testifying at a recent high-profile trial over a 1982 army massacre that left 250 villagers dead.

Freddy Peccerelli, the founder of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, received a hand-written death threat in Guatemala City on August 8. The note also mentioned his colleagues José Samuel Suasnavar, Leonel Estuardo Paiz and Omar Bertoni, all of whom gave testimony at the trial.

The threat came after a judge in Guatemala City sentenced four former soldiers from an elite army unit to 6,060 years in prison on August 2 for their role in a 1982 massacre in Dos Erres village in Guatemala’s northern Petén region.

“It is unacceptable for expert witnesses to be intimidated like this, and Guatemalan authorities must order an independent, thorough and impartial investigation into these threats and bring those responsible to justice,” said Sebastian Elgueta, Amnesty International’s Central America researcher.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/08/12-0