GUATEMALA CITY.- A Guatemalan judge imposed a five-year sentence on the Former anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparradeclared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International (AI)for revealing confidential information.
Laparra will not go to prison because the sentence is commutable, in addition to a fine of about $6,500 and his disqualification from holding public office for 10 years.
This is the second trial against the lawyer who has denounced persecution against her due to the work she carried out in coordination with the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG)a United Nations entity that investigated corruption in the country for 12 years until 2019, when then-President Jimmy Morales (2016-2020) decided not to renew his mandate.
The CICIG was headed by Iván Velásquez, current Minister of Defense of the leftist government of Gustavo Petro, a former M19 guerrilla.
In a first trial, Laparra was sentenced to four years in prison for abuse of authority for reporting a judge who had leaked classified information about a case. After spending almost two years in prison, she was released by an appeals court in January of this year.
Judge Moisés de León, who sentenced Laparra, accepted the arguments of the prosecution and the plaintiffs for having revealed information about a case to a journalist who published an article. “I do not regret it, I did not commit any crime,” said the lawyer upon leaving the hearing.
On November 28, 2022, AI declared Laparra a “prisoner of conscience” considering that her detention was due to her work in defense of the human rights.
Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on United Nations On the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, she said she was concerned about the new conviction against Laparra.
“The criminalization of Ms. Laparra for investigating corruption cases undermines the rule of law. Under international law, States must ensure that prosecutors can exercise their professional functions without intimidation, obstacles, harassment, undue interference or unjustified risk of civil, criminal or other liability,” she said on her X account.
During the administration of former President Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024), more than 35 officials of the Judiciary went into exile and denounced persecution by Attorney General Consuelo Porras after addressing cases related to corruption and crimes against humanity committed during the civil war from 1960 to 1996.
Porras was sanctioned by the US government for undermining democracy and obstructing the fight against corruption.
Source: With information from AP
