Further to GTM34755.E of 18 July 2000, in September 2000 Central America Report (CAR) reported that, according to the United Nations observer mission in Guatemala (MINIGUA), "the incidence of death threats increased significantly during the [first semester of 2000]" adding that "many of the victims were witnesses or justice personnel investigating the 1998 murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi" (7 Sept. 2000). The article states that "other prosecutors, judges, witnesses and lawyers were also targeted, as were numerous members of human rights organizations and the news media," adding that "the police and individuals connected to the army were most often responsible" (ibid.).

CAR also reports on the conviction of eight criminals on kidnapping and murder charges, a case widely hailed as a significant achievement in the judicial system (ibid.). The article states that

Key to the conviction was testimony provided by two companions of the accused and one of their victims. Carlos Joyavín Quinteros and Juan Carlos Pérez García turned State's evidence against their former comrades in exchange for entering a witness protection program. Following the trial the pair will leave the country (ibid.).

Relocating abroad also appeared to be the protection measure chosen for the family of the President of Guatemala and the family of a victim of kidnapping and murder, who reportedly left for Canada and the United States respectively due to fear of retaliation by criminals related to two kidnappers who had been sentenced to death (ibid. 23 June 2000; AP 27 June 2000).

Country Reports 1999 states that "the Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, the judicial system often fails to provide fair trials due to inefficiency, corruption, insufficient personnel or funds, and intimidation of judges, prosecutors, and witnesses" (2000, Sec. 1.e). Adding details, the document reports:

Intimidation of witnesses continued to be a problem, although there were no reports of the killing of witnesses. For example, in the second trial of former military commissioner Candido Noriega, witnesses received death threats and harassment so intense that many chose not to testify in the third trial in September. As a consequence, the list of charges against Noriega had to be reduced significantly. In May unidentified individuals abducted, assaulted, and interrogated lay worker Jeremias Tecu, who was accompanying witnesses in the Candido Noriega trial. Witnesses and relatives of murder victim Juan Chanay Pablo received death threats following the May jailbreak of former PAC members convicted of his 1993 murder. Many observers reported threats and intimidation against witnesses, lawyers, and family members of the plaintiffs in the Xaman massacre trial. In August a family member and witness in the murder of presidential candidate Jorge Carpio Nicolle received death threats after an appeals court annulled the convictions of four former PAC members. ODHAG personnel and prosecutors investigating the killing of Bishop Juan Gerardi reported increased threats and other acts of intimidation as the investigation gained momentum; during the year both the judge and the prosecutor resigned and fled the country, due in part to threats. (ibid., Sec. 1.a).

The report also adds that "for much of [1999] there was no significant progress in the case of the 1982 military massacre at Las Dos Erres, as prosecutors worked to secure relocation abroad for two potential key witnesses and their families in exchange for testimony against their former army comrades" (ibid.). In the Department of Zacapa, however, Country Reports 1999 states that authorities exposed "a witness to death threats by improperly revealing his name" (ibid.).

Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated in its World Report 1999 that

Implementation of a crucial component in the struggle against impunity, a judicial protection program, was postponed for the second consecutive year. The dire need for such a program became sadly apparent with the murder of public prosecutor Silvia Jerez on May 20. In addition to serving as the special prosecutor investigating the "disappearance" of American attorney Jennifer Harbury's husband, Guatemalan guerrilla leader Efraín Bámaca, Jerez was also prosecuting a band of kidnappers who had killed Spanish citizen Danita Blank on December 30, 1997. In June 1998, several of these kidnappers escaped from jail. One month later, the only witness to the case, Blank's husband, Dr. Edgar Orellana, was murdered. Meanwhile, the trial for the 1982 massacre in Dos RRs, Petén was postponed because the key witnesses-two ex-members of the Guatemalan Special Forces -refused to testify without protection (Dec. 1998).

More recently, HRW stated that

The European Parliament passed a resolution in May offering support for Guatemala's prosecution of crimes against humanity, for witness protection and for other protection measures for judges and lawyers. In March, cooperation between the PNC and Spain's Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), who had been providing technical assistance to the Guatemalan police since 1998, was suspended. The European Union was to provide funding to the police in the amount of some 34 million ECUS (approximately U.S. $40 million) between 1998 and 2003 (World Report 2001 Dec. 2000).

A case that has warranted particular attention is that surrounding the murder of Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi in 1998. A judge handling the case quit in April 1999 because of death threats, and an investigating prosecutor had to quit the case and leave the country in late 1999 because of threats (CAR 15 Oct. 1999). A Catholic priest implicated in the case, Mario Orantes, also left Guatemala, although the motive was not clear: his lawyer claimed it was "principally because of threats," while the Archbishop's Human Rights Office (ODHA) claimed he was granted a United States medical visa, and the media indicated that "he has not been cleared of suspicion in the case" (ibid.). Additional information on the Gerardi case can be found in news articles and annual reports available through Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Associated Press (AP) Worldstream. 27 June 2000. Will Weissert. "Two Days Before Executions, Guatemala Obsessed With Death Penalty." (NEXIS)

Central America Report (CAR) [Guatemala City]. 7 September 2000. "Two Victories For Justice." http://www.worldcom.nl/CAR/ [Accessed 15 Sept. 2000]

_____. 23 June 2000. "Army Joins Fight Against Crime, Again; President's Family Heads for Exile." http://www.worldcom.nl/CAR/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2001]

_____. 15 October 1999. "Death Threats Force Prosecutor Out." http://www.worldcom.nl/CAR/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2001]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. February 2000. "Guatemala." Washington, DC: United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/guatemal.html [Accessed 20 Feb. 2001]

Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. December 2000. World Report 2001. "Guatemala." http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/americas/guatemala3.html [Accessed 19 Feb. 2001]

_____. December 1998. World Report 1999. "Guatemala." http://www.hrw.org/hrw/worldreport99/americas/guatemala.html [Accessed 19 Feb. 2001]