The Government of Guatemala celebrated this Tuesday, March 26, the act of Public Apologies of the State to the María Isabel Véliz Franco family, violently murdered in December 2001 and whose case has been a banner in the fight against femicide and the search for justice.
President Bernardo Arévalo, who was present at the activity in Washington, thus complies with what was ordered by a ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, who demanded a public apology from the State for the treatment of the victim during the trial.
“I want to underline the fact that this apology “It is not an obligatory act, a simple act of compliance with a sentence,” said the president, addressing the victim’s family, which included Rosa Franco, Véliz’s mother and a symbol of the fight to bring the case to justice.
“It is a sincere, honest act; particularly aimed at dignifying the memory and history of the victims, like that of their families that arises
of the conviction that these types of demonstrations are fundamental to cement the culture of human rights in our country,” added the president.
On December 16, 2001, Veliz Franco, 15 years old, She was last seen leaving work and was found dead two days later. in a vacant lot in Ciudad San Cristóbal, Mixco.
The autopsy confirmed epidural hematoma, cranial trauma, cerebral edema and asphyxiation syndrome. The victim’s body had several wounds.
Amid tears from the victims’ relatives, Arévalo asked public officials this Tuesday “due diligence to meet our obligations so that human rights “the rights of each and every person are effectively attended to and respected without any discrimination.”
Arévalo highlighted the effort that Rosa Franco has been making for years to seek justice, who together with her children “They have had to leave Guatemala for fear of reprisals for asking for justice in a country “co-opted by corruption”, which entails dangers and consequences for anyone.
“That’s why I’m here. We’ve come to where Rosa and her family are residing to tell them that We have absolute respect for your daughter’s story,” the ruler remarked. “Because of your story, Mrs. Rosa, Leonel and José. I am aware of the inattention that you have experienced from the State,” he acknowledged.
Fight against power
In a speech prior to the president’s words, Franco, who attended the event along with his two children, detailed the obstacles he faced in his fight against the judiciary in Guatemala.
The public apology “does not bring my daughter back to life” but if it honors and dignifies it,” said the mother of the murdered young woman.
Franco studied law and wrote a thesis on feminicide in Guatemala based on the case of her daughter.
“The state of Guatemala is indebted to women in the face of the discrimination and violence to which they are subjected,” declared the mother, who expressly asked President Arévalo to take action so that all the recommendations of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) are complied with.
“I’m tired, it’s been a long road and I don’t know if God is going to give me 20 more years,” he added.
After more than a decade of fighting for justice on the part of his mother, and with the support of organizations in defense of human rights, the Inter-American Court issued the historic ruling against the State of Guatemala for not having protected the rights of María Isabel Véliz.
After this ruling, the authorities resumed the case and the person responsible for the feminicide, Gustavo Adolfo Bolaños, He was finally sentenced in 2021 to 30 years in prison, almost 20 years after the murder.
With the ruling, the court also ordered the State to make an act of public apology, that had to be held within a year and that was not fulfilled by the country’s previous governments.
Guatemala is, currently, the second country in Latin America with the most femicides in the region, with 601 murders of women registered in 2023, according to data from the Mutual Support Group (GAM).
*With information from EFE.
#EnDirecto | Act of Public Apologies from the State of Guatemala to the family of María Isabel Véliz Franco. https://t.co/Q1j2Y4TBS9
— Secretariat of Social Communication (@SCSPGT) March 26, 2024
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