Human rights group seeks justice in 1989 Salvadoran Jesuit massacre case

[Judi Lynn]

Human rights group seeks justice in 1989 Salvadoran Jesuit massacre case
Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:51:05 -0600

Summary:
The tiny Central American country of El Salvador will probably never recover from the trauma of the war in the 80’s between The FMLN (Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional) guerillas and the far right Salvadoran military.

During the war, the U.S. backed and funded El Salvador’s military to the tune of $3.6 billion, some of which was given to the infamous death squads that tortured, murdered and “disappeared” thousands of people, including an archbishop, priests, nuns, union leaders and journalists.

One of the more famous cases is once again making news- the 1989 case of the 6 slain Jesuit priests and their housekeeper and her daughter.

The Association for Human Rights in Spain (APDHE) with the support of the San Francisco-based organization Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) has filed a criminal complaint with the Spanish High Court against former president of El Salvador Alfredo Cristiani Berkard and 14 former members of El Salvador’s armed forces for their murder.

Both the APDHE and the CJA have confirmed that there are eye-witness accounts and government documents backing up their case.

More:
http://www.guerrillanews.com/headlines/18854/Human_rights_group_seeks_justice_in_1989_Salvadoran_Jesuit_massacre_case

[Judi Lynn]

1. In El Salvador, a new push for justice in priests' slayings

In El Salvador, a new push for justice in priests' slayings

Soldiers and officers convicted or implicated in the deaths of six priests in 1989 are free under a controversial amnesty law. Victims' relatives and rights groups turn to Spain's courts.

By Tracy Wilkinson and Alex Renderos
November 13, 2008

Reporting from Mexico City and San Salvador -- The murder 19 years ago of six Jesuit priests by a U.S.-trained army unit was the turning point in El Salvador's long civil war, an atrocity so grave that it helped force an end to the fighting.

But the soldiers and officers convicted or implicated in the slayings are free under a controversial amnesty law that is receiving new attention thanks to election politics here and a potentially landmark court case in Spain.

Rosarito Beach losing tourists to...Relatives of the priests, who were killed along with their housekeeper and her young daughter, have joined with two human rights organizations and today plan to file suit in Madrid against the generals, colonels and soldiers blamed for the killings.

The plaintiffs are invoking the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which Spanish courts have championed, that allows a case of egregious human rights violation to be heard in a country even if the acts did not take place there and the defendants do not reside there.

Human rights activists in the Americas and Europe said they hoped the Jesuit complaint could be used to fight impunity and bring justice to the victims' families by joining a procession of Spanish court cases that have forced Latin America to confront its violent past. These include suits against Guatemalan military officers accused in the massacre of indigenous citizens and figures in Argentina's "dirty war" against leftist dissidents.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/latinamerica/la-fg-jesuits13-2008nov13,0,5698269.story?track=rss