After judge Gálvez who was overseeing the trial for Guatemala’s Military Diary Case was forced into exile under trumped up charges, yesterday, February 2, at the hearing of a former Colonel and former police officer accused in the Military Diary case, a new judge granted both house arrest. The families of victims, lawyers and allies were outraged by this decision and deeply concerns for the security of the relatives.

We share with you the statement that they made public today:

Relatives of victims of the Diario Militar Case

We reject

The illegal resolution issued by Judge Rudy Eleazar Bautista Fuentes yesterday, Wednesday, February 1, which grants substitute measures to former military officials accused of serious crimes of international significance in the case known as the “Military Diary”, Jacobo Esdras Salán Sanchez and Manfred Orlando Pérez Lawrence.

This resolution adds to the long list of benefits that operators of impunity and corruption in Guatemala grant to perpetrators of serious crimes of corruption and crimes against humanity such as torture, forced disappearance, sexual violence, genocide, among others.

We hold the judge and this co-opted justice system responsible for the violations to the security and physical integrity of the victims, survivors and witnesses, who for almost 40 years have sought access to truth and justice, so that those responsible for the acts committed against the victims of the Military Diary serve the sentences according to their criminal acts, according to national legislation, and what is indicated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

!Issuing ILLEGAL RESOLUTIONS, PROMOTING IMPUNITY and granting house arrest WITHOUT SURVEILLANCE puts victims, survivors and witnesses at risk!

Guatemala, February 2, 2023

You can read the statement in Spanish below

Relatives of victims of the Diario Militar Case We reject The illegal resolution issued by Judge Rudy Eleazar Bautista Fuentes yesterday, Wednesday, February 1, which grants substitute measures to former military officials accused of serious crimes of international significance in the case known as the "Military Diary", Jacobo Esdras Salán Sanchez and Manfred Orlando Pérez Lawrence. This resolution adds to the long list of benefits that operators of impunity and corruption in Guatemala grant to perpetrators of serious crimes of corruption and crimes against humanity such as torture, forced disappearance, sexual violence, genocide, among others. We hold the judge and this co-opted justice system responsible for the violations to the security and physical integrity of the victims, survivors and witnesses, who for almost 40 years have sought access to truth and justice, so that those responsible for the acts committed against the victims of the Military Diary serve the sentences according to their criminal acts, according to national legislation, and what is indicated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. !Issuing ILLEGAL RESOLUTIONS, PROMOTING IMPUNITY and granting house arrest WITHOUT SURVEILLANCE puts victims, survivors and witnesses at risk! Guatemala, February 2, 2023 below the logo of the relatives of the case, the logo of famdegua, and the logo of caldh