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Guatemala Judge Convicts 6 Ex-Officials in Deaths of 41 Girls in 2017 Fire at State Facility
Six former government officials received prison terms from six to 25 years for homicide and abuse in a fire that killed 41 girls at a state shelter, court ruled.
- On Tuesday, Judge Ingrid Cifuentes began the trial of seven officials charged in connection with the deaths of 41 girls at the Virgen de la Asuncion Safe Home.
- Locked for hours, one girl lit a foam mattress on fire after police refused to open the doors at the Virgin de la Asuncion Safe Home, causing the fire.
- Despite overcapacity, the shelter housed about 700 minors, highlighting overcrowding and abuse at Virgin de la Asuncion Safe Home.
- Rosa Gallardo hailed the conviction as a `historic precedent`, emphasizing the importance of accountability for the shelter fire victims.
- Sentencing marks a step towards closure, with Judge Ingrid Cifuentes also ordering an investigation into former President Jimmy Morales and a seventh defendant remains under house arrest.
44 Articles
44 Articles
“During these eight years I have asked myself the question and I keep asking myself: What was in the hearts of these people not to hear the cry of help, not to open the door when we were asking them for help?” said Emelin Del Cid, a Guatemalan girl who survived a voracious fire that killed 41 of her companions, aged 13-17. Continue reading
Six people in Guatemala have been convicted of killing 41 girls in a 2017 fire at a juvenile detention center. The investigation revealed that the victims were locked in a room, and one of them set fire to a mattress in an attempt to escape. "Let those whores burn," a police officer who was aware of the fire, had the key to the room, and didn't intervene for nine minutes, reportedly said.
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