CICIG FILES AMPARO APPLICATION AGAINST COURT OF APPEALS RULING

Guatemala, July 23, 2012. Today, the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala presented an application for constitutional amparo before the Supreme Court of Justice's Cámara de Amparo y Antejuicio—the chamber responsible for applications of amparo and lifting immunity. The application was filed against the ruling passed by the First Chamber of the Court of Appeals for Criminal Matters, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment. Said ruling of June 1, 2012 awarded alternative measures to former Minister of the Interior Salvador Gándara Gaitán in lieu of being remanded in custody.

CICIG believes that the violation of the right to effective judicial protection, the breach of the risk of interference with the course of justice and the risk of absconding jeopardize the presence of the accused party in the criminal proceeding.

The charges are serious: the party faces corruption charges for allegedly committing acts of corruption that seriously impinge upon Guatemalan society and the international community. The accused party has possession of documents belonging to the Ministry of the Interior that he should not have in his possession as he no longer holds the position of Minister. Basically, this is testament to the power he has to obtain documentation from an institution to which he does not belong. Furthermore, he has not proven the way in which he obtained the documentation, pursuant to the Law on Access to Information. This demonstrates the capacity that the accused party has to access documentation. There are also serious suspicions regarding interference with the course of justice, because he could influence witnesses, expert witnesses or other co-accused. Furthermore, he could tamper with evidence for his own personal gain and also possibly abscond.