Guatemala: Authorities must stop criminalizing prisoner of conscience Virginia Laparra

[Judi Lynn]

December 13, 2022

In light of the progress of the criminal proceedings against Virginia Laparra, former prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), which could conclude with a conviction this week, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

“Virginia Laparra is a prisoner of conscience who has been unjustly deprived of her liberty for more than nine months. The criminal prosecution initiated against her is unfounded and solely due to her work as a prominent anti-corruption prosecutor. Virginia Laparra must regain her freedom immediately.”

The trial against her for the crime of continuous abuse of authority, for which she could face a sentence of up to nine years in prison, began on 28 November. Amnesty International has found multiple irregularities in the investigation and handling of this case, which is framed in a context of reprisals and criminalization against magistrates, judges, prosecutors, journalists and human rights defenders who have fought against impunity and corruption.

. . .

Virginia Laparra was arrested when she left her work on 23 February 2022 and has been held in preventive detention since then. Amnesty International found that the judicial authorities have violated her rights to liberty and due process. The court in charge of the case unjustifiably exceeded the deadline for taking her first statement and has denied her requests to continue her trial at liberty on arbitrary grounds.

More:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/12/guatemala-criminalizing-prisoner-conscience-virginia-laparra/