(Washington, DC) – Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office, Congress, and Supreme Court have taken new steps to undermine the rule of law and the rights of Guatemalans, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Human Rights Watch said today. Governments, including those of the United States, the European Union and Latin America, will have to remain vigilant and condemn such attempts to nullify the effects of the 2023 presidential elections and persecute opposition leaders and human rights defenders.
On 16 November 2023, the Attorney General’s Office requested 27 arrest warrants against activists, students, academics, human rights defenders, and a member of the Semilila Movement, the political party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo. lift the immunity of Arevalo and Vice President-elect Karin Herrera so they can be investigated for allegedly encouraging a student protest. Meanwhile, members of Congress whose terms expire in January 2024 have temporarily appointed a new Supreme Court following a process.
“Pressure from indigenous groups, other protesters in the streets, and diplomats has been critical in ensuring that political actors and government institutions overturn the election results,” said Juan Pappier, deputy Americas director at Human Rights Watch. the pressing need for continued and improved external supervision. “
The measures are part of a series of legal maneuvers through the attorney general and others aimed at infringing on voting rights and harassing Arevalo and other members of the Semililos Angeles movement. Arevalo, an anti-corruption candidate, won the presidential election against Sandra. Torres of the National Unit of Los Angeles Esperanza, UNE, in August for a four-year presidential term starting January 14, 2024.
As of November 16, five of the other 27 people had been arrested, including former congressional candidate Marcela Blanco, as well as academics Rodolfo Chang Shuma, Eduardo Antonio Velásquez Carrera, Javier De León and Alfredo Enrique Beber. The attorney general’s office charged the 27 with “illegal association” and “sedition,” among other crimes, for largely participating in nonviolent protests against the 2022 election of a dean of the University of San Carlos, Guatemala’s main public university. Protesters said the election was marred by irregularities. Under Guatemalan law, deans play a vital role in the appointment of magistrates and the attorney general.
A waiver of immunity for Arevalo and Herrera and other congressmen from the Semilla motion would allow the attorney general to open a criminal investigation against them for their alleged “promotion” of the University of San Carlos protests through social media and their alleged use of the university as a political “platform. “Under Guatemalan law, applicants and elected officials enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution.
In addition, on November 15, members of Congress appointed new Supreme Court justices based on a shortlist of candidates who, according to investigations by independent Guatemalan prosecutors, appear to have been shaped as a result of influence peddling and bribery.
The new Supreme Court justices will refresh those who were appointed in 2014 and whose terms expired in 2019. Congress has so far not nominated new justices due to allegations of irregularities, but it temporarily appointed the new justices two months before a new Congress assumes its functions. . .
Of the thirteen magistrates appointed, 3 – Oscar Ruperto Cruz, Carlos Humberto Rivera and José Luis de Jesús Samayoa – have been investigated for their role in influence peddling in the appointment process. Also among them is Manuel Duarte Barrera, whom the U. S. has sanctioned for undermining “democratic processes or establishments by abusing their authority to unduly influence and manipulate the appointment of judges to senior positions on the courts. “According to a 2020 report by the Attorney General’s Office, several other Americans have been the subject of criminal investigations.
On November 15, the current Supreme Court gave the green light to proceedings aimed at lifting immunity from criminal prosecution against a high-ranking member of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. He is under investigation for refusing to comply with a questionable and politically motivated court order in July to suspend the legal registration of the Seed movement. A few days later, the Constitutional Court suspended the court order, ruling that the ruling could not suspend the August 20 elections. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal suspended the party’s legal registration on November 2.
The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) on November 15 approved a solution urging Guatemala’s judicial, legislative, and executive branches to take steps to end “all acts of intimidation against the electoral government, the Movimiento Semilla party [and] those who have been elected. The OAS has condemned the “excessive judicialization” of the electoral procedure in Guatemala and has called on the government to avoid interfering in the elections and respect the will of the people.
Foreign governments, including those of the United States, the European Union, and Latin America, are publicly and privately calling on President Alejandro Giammattei to condemn moves through the attorney general’s office that undermine Guatemalans’ political rights, Human Rights Watch and WOLA said.
They are also expected to urge key players in Guatemala’s business sector, adding leaders of the Coordinating Committee of Commercial, Industrial and Financial Chambers (CACIF), to speak out loud about democracy and the rule of law, the organizations said.
On Nov. 16, the U. S. State Department announced that it would apply visa restrictions to 11 Guatemalan Americans following “plans through the Attorney General’s Office to register fees opposing President-elect Arevalo and Vice President-elect Herrera, as well as members of the Seed Party. ” and other members of the opposition.
Foreign governments deserve to expand sanctions against Americans who are actively involved in efforts to undermine the rule of law in Guatemala, adding that the responsibility of businessmen is being examined.
“There are any and all reasons to worry about intensifying attempts to prevent Bernardo Arevalo and Karin Herrera from taking office in January 2024,” said Ana María Méndez Dardón, WOLA’s director for Central America. The United States continues to take concrete steps to protect the democratic establishment and the will of Guatemalans. “