Guatemala-Path To Justice

 

Path To Justice

GUATEMALA

A Guatemalan court found five former paramilitary members guilty of raping and sexually abusing Indigenous women during the decades-long civil war in the Central American country, a ruling that could encourage many of the survivors to seek justice, Al Jazeera reported Tuesday.

The court found that the five defendants – who were former members of the so-called “Civil Self-Defense Patrols” – had subjected 36 Indigenous Maya Achi women to slavery, sexual violence and rape in the early 1980s. The events occurred in the villages around the municipality of Rabinal in Baja Verapaz department, about 109 miles from the capital, Guatemala City.

The defendants were each sentenced to 30 years in jail. The plaintiffs, who had spent years demanding justice for crimes committed during the conflict, welcomed the verdict.

The decision came 11 years after the women first organized to seek justice: The court initially did not accept the case and released the accused individuals in 2019 after the judge ruled that they “did not believe” the testimonies. The case nevertheless moved forward after an appeal.

The trial is connected to the Guatemalan civil conflict that pitted government and paramilitary troops against leftist fighters from 1960 to 1996. More than 200,000 people died and more than a million were displaced before a peace deal between the government and leftist forces ended the fighting in 1996.

Monday’s verdict marks the second time that former military or paramilitary members have been tried for sexual violence against women during the conflict. Meanwhile, former security forces and paramilitaries have also faced various charges, including crimes against humanity.

Though the ruling offers hope to survivors seeking justice, some lawmakers have proposed an amnesty bill to absolve all former soldiers and paramilitary members accused or convicted of crimes committed during the conflict.

Following the civil conflict, a United Nations-backed truth commission found that the Guatemalan military was responsible for 93 percent of all human rights violations during the war. More than 80 percent of the victims were Indigenous Mayans, according to the commission.

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