In December 2023, a historical trial took place in Belgium regarding crimes committed in Guatemala. Five high-level officials from Guatemala’s military and political apparatus stood trial for murder, enforced disappearance and torture of Belgian missionaries in the eighties. What impact will this have on justice in Guatemala?
Despite all odds, Guatemala’s highest court has sentenced five former paramilitary soldiers to 30 years in jail for raping 36 indigenous Maya Achi women during the country’s civil war. In this new podcast, our partners at Asymmetrical Haircuts explore with Marlies Stappers and Brisna Caxaj of Impunity Watch how women pushed for justice for 11 years and eventually succeeded. Both speakers express their admiration for the resilience, strength and creativity with which women victims in Guatemala have been achieving their goals in a particularly hostile context.
Collective European action is urgently needed to help Central American countries like Guatemala tackle growing impunity, corruption and organized transnational crime, prominent Guatemalan justice activists have said. The four activists, exiled from Guatemala for their anti-corruption work, are currently meeting European politicians in The Hague, Brussels and Geneva (11-15 October), amidst high-profile cases of expulsions […]