Defense of former prosecutor Virginia Laparra challenges the judge and the hearing of the first statement in Xela is suspended
Virginia Laparra, former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (Feci) in Quetzaltenango, through her lawyers, achieved this Tuesday, October 25 suspend the hearing of the first statement in the Criminal Court of First Instance by disqualifying Judge Carmen Acu.
This hearing was for the new process against the former prosecutor, after she was notified last October 19 of a new arrest warrant for the alleged commissioneithern of the crime of disclosureeitherNo of informationeithern Confidential and reserved.
On November 7, 2017, Laparra denounced Lesther Castellanos, High Risk judge, because he allegedly revealed information from a confidential investigation to lawyer Omar Barrios.
According to lawyers of the former head of the Feci in Xela, Castellanos, who in March 2022 was appointed chief rapporteur of the Office for Prevention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, was sanctioned by the Judicial Body and challenged four times by María Gálvez, judicial representative of the now-defunct International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG).
That same year, Judge Castellanos denounced Laparra for disclosing confidential information to the lawyer Omar Barrios.
Five years later, the complaint that the judge presented to the Public Ministry (MP) reached the Criminal Court of First Instance in charge of Judge Acu.
This Tuesday, October 25, the judge did not get to know the file and argued that it was not prudent to omit an opinion because Laparra challenged her.
“Virginia Laparra doubts and is afraid of access to justice”, Judge Acu pointed out and supported the decision in the Political Constitution of the Republic and the American Convention on Human Rights.
The judge suspended the hearing on the grounds that the Fifth Court of Appeals of Quetzaltenango must resolve the issue of her recusal and sent the process to the Court of Duty for a judge to carry out the first statement hearing.
In addition, Laparra’s defense presented to the court two more memorials so that it could be heard via videoconference and not be transferred to Xela because she fears for her safety.
Noé Vásquez, from the MP’s Internal Affairs Prosecutor’s Office, upon learning that the defendant was not transferred from the prison in the capital to Quetzaltenango, sHe asked the judge to demand that the director of the Penitentiary System transfer the accused.
Lesther Castellanos, plaintiff in the process, explained to the judge that he did not agree with the suspension of the hearing and stressed to the lawyers that “Then don’t victimize yourself due to the delay in the process, because the defense presented three memorials and the recusal”.
He added: “We want to carry out the hearing.”
Castellanos explained that the hearing on October 25 was for the first complaint that he filed against Laparra for the alleged leak of information.
Wendy López, lawyer for the aforementioned, explained that they challenged the judge because Lesther Castellanos was her professor and thesis advisor and in that sense they doubt the impartiality of the judge.
To read more: “The State has him kidnapped”: son of Guatemalan journalist Jose Rubén Zamora complains to the IACHR
Castellanos, realizing that the case was not progressing in Xela, denounced in the capital, where a new file was opened.
In Guatemala they took the complaint and the other process began, by which the new arrest warrant was issued against Laparra.
In the case of the process in the capital, the former official has already been sent to trial under charges of abuse of authority, in a case that follows the request of two administrative complaints against the judge.
