2023-05-18 22:16:22
The second judicial process against the former FECI prosecutor is scheduled to begin next week, but now they must wait for the judge to be in charge of the case, in which she is accused of revealing confidential information.
By Shirlie Rodriguez
Having studied a master’s degree and a doctorate with Virginia Laparra, led Judge Moisés de León of the First Criminal Sentencing Court of Quetzaltenango to excuse himself from attending the trial that was scheduled to begin on May 22.
Now, the file was transferred to the Fifth Chamber of Appeals and it is the magistrates who will decide which judge will take the case. In the offer hearing it was defined that the First Court would hear this second process.
If Judge Moisés de León will not know the trial, there are still two more judges who can attend him, Elsa Nivia de Castillo Rodas and Domingo Cali.
Laparra’s defense is still waiting for them to indicate whether a hearing will be held next Monday where the debate and the presentation of the evidence held by the Public Ministry (MP), complainants and the defense were scheduled to begin.
In this second process, the former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) of Quetzaltenango is being accused of the crime of revealing information, which she allegedly disclosed in a public hearing while she was in charge of the entity. .
Here are the details of the case:
Virginia Laparra former FECI prosecutor will face a second trial in Quetzaltenango
This situation is similar to that evidenced in the first phase of the case. Virginia Laparra’s defense challenged Judge Carmen Acú of the Criminal Court of First Instance of Quetzaltenango, because they did not have the confidence and certainty of her impartiality when judging this case. Acú had the complainant Lesther Castellanos as a professor.
When this excuse was presented, the magistrates of the Fifth Chamber of Quetzaltenango decided that the judge herself should know the entire process and there was no reason for them to doubt her actions during the case.
During various hearings, Laparra and his defense made their disagreements public because they favored the complainant or complainants more, including the Foundation Against Terrorism (FCT). In addition, the former prosecutor said that she did not have confidence in the judge and despite this she continued the case until the stage reached when Acú decided to send her to trial.
In the last hearing that was held in the Xela courts, Laparra denounced that an agent of the Penitentiary System was assaulting her and tried to prevent her from speaking to the press.
Read more about this complaint here:
Virginia Laparra denounces assault after leaving hearing to offer evidence
This second judicial process against Laparra was also denounced by the former judge and now Rapporteur Against Torture, Lesther Castellanos. The fact comes from 2017.
In the complaint, the MP refers that Laparra disclosed details of a process that was in reserve, but the hearing was public. They add that, as a result of this, it was published in the media that there would be an effective collaboration agreement.
The defense argued that this was not a crime because the basic data of the case was mentioned, in addition, it was at a public event, she did not make statements directly to the press.
Among the witnesses that the MP presented and Judge Acú accepted, is the statement by Castellanos, the judge who was in charge of the hearing in 2017, the defense attorney, a journalist, and also the defendant in that case, René Villavicencio.
The latter has already been sentenced for cases related to corruption and the defense asked that it not be accepted because his testimony would be clearly biased because Laparra was the one who led the investigation against him. Despite this, Acú accepted it and will testify in due course.
While this impasse is resolved, Laparra has remained in pretrial detention since February 2022, which has led international organizations to speak out against this measure that violates her human rights, to the point that they even declared her a “prisoner of conscience.”
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