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A12 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 14 November 2017

Human rights group accuses Guatemalan courts of delays

By SONIA PEREZ D more than 100 defense fil- them. mala has made progress those circles with trials.”
Associated Press ings have delayed the trial. Daniel Wilkinson, manag- on holding officials ac- “The strategic defense (of
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An Perez Molina and Baldetti, ing director of the Ameri- countable for abuses of those accused) was al-
international human rights ways to delay the cases,”
group says Guatemalan Wilkinson said.
courts are foot- dragging The report notes a pattern
on high-profile cases and in which pretrial proceed-
threatening the work of the ings drag on as defense
country’s prosecutors and lawyers appeal court deci-
a U.N. anti-corruption com- sions and file petitions seek-
mission. ing the recusal of judges.
Human Rights Watch ana- “The repeated filing of
lyzed eight major cases such petitions has brought
that have bogged down many key prosecutions to
and concluded the courts a standstill, and lawyers are
are undermining the anti- not effectively sanctioned
corruption work by taking even when filing petitions
too long to process ap- that are manifestly frivo-
peals and pretrial motions. lous,” Wilkinson said.
In a report released Sun- The report also cites the
day, the group accuses genocide trial of former
the courts of trying to run dictator Jose Efrain Rios
out the clock on prosecu- Montt as another case
tions by keeping defen- bogged down by delays.
dants from ever making it Rios Montt was convicted
to trial. in 2013, but Guatemala’s
Among the cases is a cus- Constitutional Court threw
toms fraud scandal that al- Guatemala’s former President Otto Perez Molina sits in court for a third hearing on corruption the verdict out.
legedly sent kickbacks to allegations that led him to resign, in Guatemala City. A Human Rights Watch report published on A new special proceed-
Sunday, Nov. 12 2017, says that Guatemala’s judicial system is putting its ongoing fight against
then President Otto Perez corruption in jeopardy, as in the case against Perez Molina. ing, which cannot result in
Molina and Vice President (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) a guilty verdict because of
Roxana Baldetti. Rios Montt’s deteriorating
They resigned and were who resigned in 2015, both cas division at Human power, but still needs to mental health, only began
jailed to await trial, but deny the charges against Rights Watch, said Guate- “move forward and close in October.q
Magnitude 6.5 quake hits Costa Rica coast, shakes capital

By JAVIER CORDOBA Electricity was knocked (15 kilometers) southeast of to get out of the house it ering information.
Associated Press out in some areas as pow- the town of Jaco, which is started to shake again very He urged people to remain
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) er lines and poles fell, but about 60 (100 kilometers) strongly,” she said. “All of calm and prepare for after-
— A strong earthquake with there were no reports of miles southwest of the capi- our neighbors were in the shocks.
a preliminary magnitude major infrastructure dam- tal, San Jose. street. Matt Hogan was at home
of 6.5 shook Costa Rica age from the tremor, which The quake was at a depth In front of my house there in Punta Uvita, about a
on Sunday night, knock- hit in a lightly populated of about 12 miles (20 kilo- is an overlook some peo- 90-minute drive down the
ing items from shelves and area along the Pacific meters). ple started to go up, but coast from the epicenter
sending people rushing Coast. The National Emergency it quickly started to shake when the earthquake hit
outside in panic. The government reported Commission said there was again.” around 8:30 p.m.
The country’s Public Safety some rockslides obstructing no chance of a tsunami. Four minutes after the initial He said the shaking
Ministry said it had reports highways near the epicen- Magdalena Lopez, who earthquake, a magnitude whipped up two-foot
of two serious injuries as a ter. lives in Jaco, said the trem- 5.2 aftershock struck. waves in his swimming pool
result of the quake, but did The U.S. Geological Survey or started softly, but quickly President Luis Guillermo So- and knocked over glasses
not provide additional de- said the earthquake was strengthened. lis said via Twitter that the and containers in the kitch-
tails. centered about 10 miles “When we were trying government was still gath- en. q