IMPUNITY JUDGES REPORT SUBMITTED

Guatemala, November 29, 2012. Yesterday, Commissioner Francisco Javier Dall'Anese Ruiz submitted the Impunity Judges Report to Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz. The report identifies the legal irregularities of resolutions passed by 18 judges of the Guatemalan justice system.

The report was submitted in accordance with order 1122-2005 of the Constitutional Court (CC), which states that: "It is not a crime or offence to publish criminal complaints, criticisms or accusations against civil servants or public employees based on actions taken in the course of their duties."

The report is comprised of two sections. The first section indicates the irregularities committed by judges in delivering illicit decisions. The second section presents the names of judges and concrete cases in which they breached the law.

The judges referred to in the report are the following:

1. Mario Fernando Peralta Castañeda
2. Rossana Maribel Mena Guzmán
3. Julio Gerónimo Xitumul
4. Irma Leticia Valenzuela Dávila
5. Patricia Anabella Veras Castillo
6. Coralia Carmina Contreras Flores
7. Carlos Antonio Aguilar Revolorio
8. Silvia Coralia Morales Ascencio
9. Artemio Tánchez
10. Héctor Echeverría
11. Fausto Corado Morán
12. Byron de la Cruz
13. Dina Josefina Ochoa Escribá
14. Sergio Leonel Castro Romero
15. Silvia Violeta de León Santos
16. Amílcar Enrique Colindres Hernández
17. Verónica del Rosario Galicia Marroquín
18. José Eduardo Cojulum

The analysis conducted by CICIG is based on public documents regarding the orders issued by judges in a number of cases. It is now the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) that must assess the complaints contained within the report and take the necessary steps. "The impunity judges breached the law by delivering illegal orders; they broke the law and supported criminal networks," declared Commissioner Francisco Dall'Anese.

CICIG is authorized to "[sub-paragraph] d) Report to the relevant administrative authorities the names of civil servants or public employees who in the exercise of their duties have allegedly committed administrative offences so that the proper administrative proceedings can be initiated, especially those civil servants or public employees accused of interfering with the exercise of the Commission's functions or powers, without prejudice to any criminal proceedings that may be instituted through the Public Prosecutor's Office."