PRESS RELEASE 046
ACCUSED IN NICARAGUA BUS CASE WILL RETURN TO PRISON
Guatemala, June 27, 2012. Sara Elizabeth Cruz Mansilla, who faces charges of unlawful association in the Nicaragua bus case, must return to prison following the decision passed down by the First Chamber of Criminal Appeals that annulled the alternative measures awarded by Carol Patricia Flores, Judge of the Court A of the First Instance for High-Risk Matters.
The Judge was given notice of the decision of the Chamber on June 25 and she, as the person responsible for the proceeding, must comply accordingly with the decision. Cruz Mansilla had previously been released on bail, subjected to house arrest and obliged to sign the attendance register in the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP).
The Chamber's decision is the result of an appeal lodged by the MP and the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala, which acts as a complementary prosecutor in this criminal proceeding.
The Defense challenged the decision of the Chamber of Appeals by submitting an application for amparo on April 30; however, the Supreme Court of Justice dismissed the action.
Cruz Mancilla was extradited from Mexico along with Marvin Montiel Marín or Marvin Leonel Barrios (known as "el Taquero”, the taco seller), with whom she lived. The pair are accused of being involved in the murder of 16 persons who were travelling on a bus en route from Nicaragua on November 8, 2008.
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