Amnesty International - Attack against Attorney General - a grave assault on the rule of law
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
AI Index: AMR 34/082/2002 (Public)
News Service No: 229
11 December 2002
Guatemala: Attack against Attorney General
- a grave assault on the rule of law
Amnesty International today expressed grave
concern at an armed attack carried out against
Guatemala's Attorney General on the evening
of 5 December, but only made public days
later. Carlos De León Argueta , the
country's highest ranking prosecutorial officer,
was fired upon by unidentified gunmen as
he returned to his home in Guatemala City.
Six shots were directed at the car he was
driving, but hit only trees and a wall near
the entrance to his home. The Attorney General
escaped unhurt.
"Carlos De León is the highest
ranking member of the Guatemalan legal community
to suffer such an attempt on his life since
Epaminondas González Dubón,
then head of the country's Constitutional
Court was extrajudicially executed in 1994,"
Amnesty International said.
"Both men had been involved in inquiries
into past human rights violations and official
involvement in drug-trafficking," the
organization added saying that both attacks
represented a grave assaults on the rule
of law in Guatemala.
"The fact that the country's highest
ranking prosecutorial officer, the Attorney
General, can only carry out his duties at
the risk of his life, gives some idea of
the conditions under which other Guatemalan
law professionals are forced to live, particularly
those involved in efforts to combat impunity
and bring the perpetrators of past emblematic
human rights violations to justice,"
Amnesty International stressed.
"In such a context, it becomes more
and more difficult to believe that the Guatemalan
authorities are making any real progress
towards returning the country to the rule
of law," the human rights organization
said.
"The government must now take immediate
steps to address this situation by implementing
effective measures to ensure protection for
all members of the legal community and to
conduct full investigations into threats,
intimidation and attacks against them,"
Amnesty International added.
Amnesty International is particularly concerned
that the Minister of Interior has been reported
as publicly denying that the attack took
place. Traditionally denial has been a common
response by Guatemalan officials in response
to reported human rights violations.
"In this case, however, it is strange,
because one high-ranking official is casting
doubts on reports from another high-ranking
government official. It shows the lack of
official support for those in the prosecutor's
office trying to genuinely carry out their
duties," Amnesty International said.
Background
Amnesty International's concern at the growing
threats against the judiciary led its International
Legal Network to launch a special campaign
for their protection only days ago, on 27
November. Over 5000 Amnesty International
lawyers and other legal professionals in
more than 40 countries will be offering their
support to threatened jurists in Guatemala.
They are also approaching members of the
Guatemalan government, urging them to ensure
protection for threatened jurists and to
take other specific steps to improve the
administration of justice in Guatemala.
Carlos De León Argueta took up his
position as Attorney General in May this
year. His appointment was welcomed by the
local human rights community in Guatemala.
Since taking office he appears to have made
genuine efforts to investigate past human
rights abuses. He is also responsible for
investigating organised crime, corruption
and drug-trafficking. His inquiries in those
areas may have led to Thursday night's attack.
The attempt on his life took place the day
that, as head of the Ministerio Público,
Prosecutor's Office, he named the prosecutors
to carry out investigations of high-ranking
military officers accused of involvement
in organised crime. However, Amnesty International
said that the distinction between those responsible
for past human rights violations and those
involved in organised crime is not clear-cut
-- often the same individuals are involved
in both -- and that the Attorney General's
work on human rights cases could also have
led to the assassination attempt.
Following the attack, De León told
a press conference that he would continue
to carry out his official duties, but that
he would take additional security precautions
including keeping his official commitments
confidential and constantly changing his
place of residence. He also revealed that
he had been receiving both written and telephone
death threats.
Guatemala suffered a civil conflict which
lasted over more than 30 years, only formally
ending with Peace Accords in 1996. The Accords
made far-reaching promises on a wide range
of social, political and cultural issues,
including as regards the administration of
justice. However, few of the Accords commitments
have been implemented, and those pressing
to implement them or to combat the prevailing
impunity for the gross abuses of the conflict
years have suffered a series of new abuses.
Over the past several years, the judicial
sector appears to have been particularly
targeted for repression.
After two visits to the country in 1999 and
2001, the United Nations Special Rapporteur
on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers,
Param Cumaraswamy reported on more than 90
cases of abuses against people involved in
the justice system and urged the government
to take steps to end threats and harassment
against judges and lawyers. Only days before
the attack on De León Argueta, Dina
Ochoa, President of the Guatemalan Association
of Judges and Magistrates of the Guatemalan
Supreme Court called for better security
and guarantees for the security of the Guatemalan
legal community, listing 45 recent cases
of threats and intimidation suffered by judges,
lawyers and prosecutors.
Public Document
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