UN denounces persecution of anti-corruption judges and prosecutors in Guatemala

United Nations, 24 Mar UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed his concern on Thursday about the alleged judicial prosecution that prosecutors and judges are suffering in Guatemala with an important role in the fight against corruption in the country. Guterres, through his spokesman, highlighted “the important contribution” that national judicial officials have made in the fight against corruption and impunity, a task that for several years was reinforced by the work of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). “This contribution has been consistently recognized by Guatemalan authorities, human rights defenders and the international community,” spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said at his daily press conference. “The Secretary General notes with concern recent reports of legal action against Guatemalan prosecutors and judges who played a prominent role in efforts against impunity,” he added. The UN said that, amid reports that “question the independence of justice and criminal prosecution in Guatemala,” it welcomes the request made by the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, for a visit by the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. At least fifteen Guatemalan justice officials have been forced to go into exile in recent months because, according to the majority, they have suffered “criminalization” against them by the attorney general. Most of those who went into exile are prosecutors who took part in the fight against corruption in Guatemala that took place between 2014 and 2020, a struggle that was greatly weakened by the Guatemalan government's expulsion of CICIG in 2019. The last figure to announce her resignation from office and her departure from the country was this week the renowned judge Erika Aifán Davila, who denounced having information about possible attacks on her life and claimed to be the victim of “persecution” by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The judge had been in the judiciary for 19 years, including 6 in a high-risk court, and during them she handled several high-profile cases, including the indictment of five members of Guatemala's business elite in 2018 for illicitly financing the political campaign and coming to the presidency of comedian Jimmy Morales (2016-2020) . In addition, until now he had the file of an ongoing investigation involving Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, who according to the judge requested information about the case.