Virginia Laparra

Cases
Case status
Unknown
Location of case in SG report
2022-029-005
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2022
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 15.783471

Longitude: -90.2307589999999

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Guatemala
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
Dates of prior UN action
31 March 2022
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Female
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

Prosecutor

Type of rights defended
  • Accountability & impunity
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
Yes
Engagement with UN body
  • CICIG
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
  • Submission of information to UN
Dates of mentioned reprisals
10 to 23 February 2022
Location of mentioned reprisals
Guatemala
Reprisal information
  1. On 11 February 2022, the Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General noted with concern the detention of at least two individuals who cooperated closely with the CICIG. On 31 March 2022, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers addressed the arrests between 10 and 23 February 2022 of five prosecutors and one lawyer who had worked with the FECI in a high-profile case against public officials and organized crime, including many investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG (GTM 1/2022). The prosecutors are Ms. Siomara Sosa, Ms. Paola Escobar, Ms. Aliss Morán, Mr. William Racanac and Ms. Virginia Laparra, and the lawyer is Ms. Leily Santizo, also former CICIG staff. Charges included counts of abuse of authority, usurpation of functions, obstruction to justice and false testimony. Trial against four of the prosecutors is ongoing. Virginia Laparra remains in pretrial detention since 23 February 2022.
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
  • 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
1 July 2022
Government response content

On 1 July 2022, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report with information on the detention situation and ongoing trials against the prosecutors Ms. Siomara Sosa, Ms. Paola Escobar, Ms. Aliss Morán, Mr. William Racanac and Ms. Virginia Laparra and the pretrial detention of Ms. Leily Santizo, all of them under charges of abuse of authority, obstruction of justice and false testimony as well as additional information on the situation of other judges and magistrates of the Constitutional Court. The Government also shared information on the situation of the independence of judges and lawyers and the protection of the judiciary, and clarified that the authorities are not aware of alleged acts of intimidation and reprisals or attacks against judges and prosecutors.

Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
No
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?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
3
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2023
Follow up information provided in SG report 0

  1. Alleged acts of reprisals against judges and prosecutors who worked on cases investigated with the technical assistance of the the International Commission against Impunity (CICIG) have been included since 2019 in the Secretary-General’s reports83 During the reporting period, UN actors noted developments on ongoing cases or situations included in previous reports.

  2. In its 2023 report to the Human Rights Council, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) noted an alarming increase in the number of justice officials who were the target of attacks related to their role in cases of corruption and serious human rights violations, including the cases below. The report also noted online defamation and slander campaigns against justice officials (A/HRC/52/23, paras. 60–63).84

  3. Alleged reprisals continued against prosecutors from the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) who investigated cases in collaboration with the CICIG, and two of their lawyers.

  4. The case of Ms. Virginia Laparra, former FECI chief in Quetzaltenango, was included in the 2022 report of the Secretary-General on allegations of arrest and arbitrary detention for her work with the FECI in high-profile corruption cases against public officials and organized crime, including many investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG (GTM 1/2022).86 On 22 and 25 November 2022, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers expressed concern over the criminalisation of Ms. Laparra noting that the proceedings had been characterised by violations to due process and an excessive use of pretrial detention, amongst others (GTM 6/2022).

  5. According to information received by OHCHR, on 16 December 2022, Ms. Laparra was convicted and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, commutable, and barred from holding public office for four years for abuse of authority. Between October 2022 and January 2023, Ms. Laparra received an arrest warrant for a second criminal case against her and criminal proceedings were initiated accusing her of leaking confidential information in a hearing as FECI prosecutor. On 3 January 2023, the judge in charge of Ms. Laparra’s case ordered a criminal investigation against Ms. Laparra’s lawyer, Ms. Wendy Geraldina López presumably for the crimes of disobedience and/or public disorder. The order was issued when Ms. López protested against the judge’s instruction of the secrecy of the proceedings and told her to leave the court room. On 1 April 2023, the judge barred Ms. López from defending Ms. Laparra.

  6. On 27 July 2023, the Government provided a response to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report, with information on two criminal cases against former FECI prosecutor Ms. Virginia Laparra. It clarified that in one of them she had been convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment commutable, and that the defence had filed a special appeal on the merits that prevented the execution of the sentence. The Government noted further that the investigation was ongoing in the other case.

Followup Trends 0
Deterioration/further reprisals
Date of follow up 0
2022; 2023; 22 and 25 November 2022
Did the government respond? 0
Yes
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
2024
Follow up information provided in SG report 1
  1. The case of Ms. Virginia Laparra Rivas, former FECI chief in Quetzaltenango, was included in the 2022 and 2023 reports of the Secretary-General88 on allegations of arrest, arbitrary detention, conviction and sentencing for her work with the FECI in high-profile corruption cases against public officials and organized crime, including many investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG.89,90
  2. On 18 May 2023, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued opinion 24/2023 concerning Ms. Laparra Rivas considering her detention arbitrary and calling for her release.91 On 26 December 2023, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered Ms. Laparra’s release, which took place on 3 January 2024 after 680 days of detention, with alternative measures to imprisonment such as house arrest. On 5 January 202492 and in his 2023 report, 93 the High Commissioner for Human Rights called on for her unconditional release. On 29 January 2024, Ms. Laparra requested the General Attorney’s Office to reinstate her as prosecutor. The trial of the second criminal case against Ms. Laparra under charges of disclosure of confidential information in Quetzaltenango is expected to start on 27 May 2024.
  3. On 4 July 2024, 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 in the report.
Followup Trends 1
Improvement
Date of follow up 1
18 May 2023
Did the government respond? 1
Yes
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 1
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 2
2025
Follow up information provided in SG report 2
  1. The case of Ms. Virginia Laparra Rivas, former FECI Chief in Quetzaltenango, was included in the 2022 and 2023 reports of the Secretary-General74 on allegations of arrest, arbitrary detention, conviction and sentencing for her work with the FECI in high-profile corruption cases against public officials and organized crime, including many investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG. In May 2023, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued opinion 24/2023 considering her detention arbitrary (A/HRC/WGAD/2023/24, para. 109). In January 2024, Ms. Laparra was released under non-custodial measures, such as house arrest, prohibition to leave the country and biometric control checks every 15 days in court, after 680 days of detention.
  2. According to information received by OHCHR, on 8 July 2024, a second judgement was issued against Ms. Laparra, finding her guilty of disclosing confidential information from a case in 2017. She was sentenced to a commutable five-year sentence, a ten-year ban from holding public office, and a fine amounting to 50,000 quetzales. Right after the issuance of the sentence and under the constant threat of detention, Ms. Laparra decided to leave the country. In April 2025, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and plaintiffs reportedly requested the revocation of the alternative measures to the deprivation of liberty of Ms. Laparra. Even though the petition was dismissed by the sentencing court, plaintiffs reportedly requested that the Fifth Chamber of Appeals for Criminal Matters, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment of Quetzaltenango declare Ms. Laparra in contempt and revoke the alternative measures. They also reportedly requested that the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) issue a Red Notice for her international arrest. The Chamber has not yet responded to this request. 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 2
Significant positive and negative developments
Did the government respond? 2
Yes