Guatemala: Amnesty International condemns yet another unjustified delay in trial of prisoner of conscience Virginia Lapa

[Judi Lynn]

May 7, 2024

Following the suspension of the hearing scheduled for today, 6 May, and the resulting further delay in the start of the criminal trial against former prosecutor Virginia Laparra Rivas, Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

. . .

Virginia Laparra has been defending herself in this unfounded criminal case for six years despite continuous attacks. It is absolutely unacceptable that the authorities continue to allow further unjustified delays and violations of her human rights.

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International

Virginia Laparra, unjustly accused of revealing confidential information, appeared in court in Quetzaltenango this morning for the opening of her trial. However, the lawyer for one of the adhesive plaintiffs (private prosecutors) failed to appear, and the judge rescheduled the hearing for Monday 27 May.

Amnesty International has condemned the judicial harassment suffered by the former prosecutor and documented numerous irregularities and violations of her human rights in the two criminal cases against her. The two cases are the result of two complaints filed by the same Quetzaltenango judge, who is accused of alleged corruption, after Virginia Laparra brought charges against him in the exercise of her duties. The first trial, which did not respect due process guarantees, ended in December 2022 with a four-year prison sentence for the former prosecutor.

More:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/05/guatemala-amnesty-international-condemns-another-unjustified-delay-trial-prisoner-conscience-virginia-laparra/



Virginia Lapa