GENEVA (25 November 2022) – Legal proceedings against a former Guatemalan judge and a former prosecutor constitute an attack on the rule of law and a reprisal against their human rights and anti-corruption work, a UN expert said today.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, has urged Guatemalan authorities to take immediate action to ensure the safety of former prosecutor Virginia Laparra Rivas and former judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez, and to protect the independence of the country’s judges and prosecutors.
“The criminalisation of Ms. Laparra and threats against Judge Gálvez are an attack on the rule of law,” said Satterthwaite. “I’m especially concerned about the irregularities in Ms. Laparra’s case and her continued detention in conditions that may put her health and safety at risk.”