PRESS RELEASE 028
POLICE CHIEF INVOLVED IN POLOCHIC CASE LINKED TO PROCEEDINGS
Guatemala, April 20, 2012. Today, in the morning, the initial hearing was held for Police Chief and Head of the Directorate of Special Police Forces (DIFEP) Pedro González Rodriguez, who is accused in the Polochic case. The judge of Court A for High-Risk Matters, Carol Patricia Flores Polanco, linked González Rodriguez to proceedings on a charge of extrajudicial killing and she remanded him in custody to guarantee his presence in the hearing, because of the risk of interference with the course of justice.
The judge set a two-month limit to conclude the investigation and hence the final decision must be presented on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. The arraignment hearing was programmed for Thursday, July 5, 2012.
BACKGROUND FACTS:
On March 15, 2011, the eviction of the “Miralvalle” estate, located in Valle de Panzós (department of Verapaz), was conducted by order of the First Court of the First Criminal Instance of Cobán. This came in response to the aggravated usurpation complaint lodged by the legal representatives of the sugar refinery Chabil Utzaj against the farmer communities of the region. The eviction was conducted by the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office of La Tinta, department of Alta Verapaz, along with units from the Directorate of Special Forces (DIFEP) of the National Civil Police (PNC) led by the now police chief, Pedro González Rodríguez.
As a result of these actions, the farmer Antonio Beb Ac was killed after receiving a blow to the upper part of the skull due to the inappropriate use of a deterrent device. Such devices are used by the Special Forces of the PNC in this type of situation.
Given the severity of events and so as to facilitate the investigation, the Special Anti-impunity Prosecutor’s Bureau (FECI) asked the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice to grant it jurisdiction in high-risk proceedings. The Supreme Court approved the request on February 6, 2012. The Court for High-Risk Matters assigned the investigation to Court A for High-Risk Matters, which is led by Flores Polanco.