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).

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.

The case of Ms. Virginia Laparra, former FECI chief in Quetzaltenango, was included in the 2022 report of the Secretary-General85 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).

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 caseordered 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.

The cases of Ms. Siomara Sosa, Ms. Paola Escobar, Mr. William Racanac, and Ms. Sosa’s lawyer and former CICIG worker Ms. Leily Santizo, were included in the 2022 report of the Secretary-General88 on allegations of undue criminal proceedings against them on charges of abuse of authority, usurpation of functions, obstruction to justice and false testimony. According to information received by OHCHR, the criminal proceedings against Ms. Sosa, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Racanac, and Ms. Santizo continued during the reporting period. In his 2023 report to the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns about violations of the rights to liberty and to fair trial guarantees in their cases (A/HRC/52/23, para. 60).

The case of Mr. Juan Francisco Sandoval, a former chief prosecutor of FECI, has been included since 2020 in reports of the Secretary-General89 on allegations of reprisals for his work in high-profile cases, including cases investigated with the technical assistance of the CICIG. According to information received by OHCHR, on 12 September and 19 October 2022, two arrest warrants and an extradition request were issued against Mr. Sandoval on charges of influence peddling, obstruction and denial of justice. A second arrest warrant was issued against Ms. Leily Santizo on 19 October 2022 for allegedly leaking confidential information to Mr. Sandoval.

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.

The Government provided updated information on the criminal proceedings against Ms. Siomara Sosa, Ms. Paola Escobar, Mr. William Racanac, and Ms. Leily Santizo. It noted that Ms. Sosa had appealed the indictment against her for the crime of collusion, that was still under consideration. The Government added that a second arrest warrant had been issued against Ms. Leily Santizo, whose whereabouts were unknown. It provided information on four criminal cases filed against Ms. Paola Escobar under various charges including abuse of authority, noting that they were under investigation and that they had also been filed against other individuals including Mr. William Racanac.

The Government also shared information on four criminal cases against FECI former chief prosecutor Mr. Francisco Sandoval Afaro and other individuals, noting that one of the criminal cases had been dismissed and an opposition hearing had been scheduled. It also provided updated information on over 20 cases against Ms. Erika Aifán, 13 of which were under investigation (one with no criminal charges), four had been closed, and four had been dismissed and it shared a list of preliminary proceedings filed against Mr. Miguel Ángel Gálvez. The Government also confirmed the level of risk faced by Judge Mr. Pablo Xitumul and that personalized security measures had been recommended and noted it had no updated information on Ms. Claudia Maselli.