Mr. Stuardo Ernesto Campo Aguilar
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2024-061-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2024
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 15.783471
Longitude: -90.2307589999999
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Guatemala
- From Region
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
Mr. Campo is a former anti-corruption prosecutor and was the chief of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) until 2021.
- Type of rights defended
- Civil/political rights
- Corruption
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- Yes
- Reported trigger of reprisal
work on high-profile cases investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG.
- Engagement with UN body
- CICIG
- Type of attempted engagement
- Other
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 26 May 2023, 1 December 2023, 18 December 2023
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Guatemala
- Reprisal information
On 26 May 2023, Mr. Stuardo Ernesto Campo Aguilar was detained on charges of “abuse of authority” due to a complaint in connection with his work on high-profile cases investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG. Mr. Campo is a former anti-corruption prosecutor and was the chief of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) until 2021. 62. On 29 August 2023, Mr. Campo Aguilar was provisionally released with alternative measures, including house arrest, an electronic bracelet, and the interdiction to communicate with, amongst others, “international representations”. Reportedly, the Prosecution could initiate further investigations as such communications would imply that he would want to flee justice. 63. On 1 December 2023, Mr. Campo was arrested in a new case under charges of “abuse of authority”, “breach of duties” and “obstruction to criminal action.” On 18 December 2023, a judge ordered his preventive detention. At the time of writing, Mr. Campo Aguilar remained in detention. 64. OHCHR is closely following the situation of Mr. Campo Aguilar and until August 2023 visited him in the detention centre at least in three occasions. There are concerns that the interdiction order has prevented Mr. Campo’s continued communication with OHCHR, at the risk of further investigations by the Prosecution.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Conviction
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Trial
- Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 4 July 2024
- Government response content
the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report recognising the important work done by justice officials in the fight against corruption and impunity in the country and expressing concern about the cases included in the report. The Government provided a number of factual corrections regarding ongoing legal proceedings concerning the cases described above that were incorporated into to the report.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- Yes
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2025
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- The case of Mr. Stuardo Ernesto Campo Aguilar, former anti-corruption prosecutor and former Chief of FECI, was included in the 2024 report of the Secretary-General79 in relation to his detention on charges of abuse of authority, due to a complaint in connection with his work on high-profile cases investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG. Mr. Campo was arrested a second time on 1 December 2023. Throughout the reporting period, he has remained in detention. The High Commissioner for Human Rights and his office expressed concern in this regard, noting that his detention violates international norms and standards on deprivation of liberty, including those of reasonableness, necessity and proportionality.80 On 18 July 2025, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report expressing concern about ongoing practices within the justice system that violate the rights of human rights defenders, including justice officials, who have played a significant role in the fight against corruption and impunity in Guatemala. The Government acknowledged that the criminalization of human rights defenders remains a serious issue and reiterated its strong commitment to creating the necessary conditions for all defenders to carry out their work without coercion, intimidation, or reprisals.
- Followup Trends 0
- Stayed same
- Did the government respond? 0
- Yes
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights