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UN Expert Says Guatemalan Prosecutor's Office Using Criminal Law to Pursue Opponents
- Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur, warned on May 23, 2025, that Guatemala's Prosecutor General's Office targets opponents using criminal law.
- Her two-week mission followed reports that the office led by Consuelo Porras systematically uses criminal charges against former prosecutors, lawyers, and journalists.
- Satterthwaite documented over 60 justice operators criminally charged and more than 50 exiled, while those opposing impunity face harassment, threats, and intensified persecution.
- She stated the office’s actions represent a systematic, intentional deprivation of rights, yet Porras' office rejects this, claiming their work is complex and legally grounded.
- President Bernardo Arévalo unsuccessfully urged Porras to resign, highlighting ongoing concerns about the prosecution’s alleged obstruction of corruption investigations.
24 Articles
24 Articles
UN sounds alarm on Guatemala judiciary and rule of law
UN Special Rapporteur Margaret Satterthwaite on Friday stated that Guatemala’s legal system is at a turning point, stressing that the country’s democratic future depends on whether upcoming judicial appointments are handled with transparency and whether criminal law is applied fairly and without political interference. Satterthwaite raised alarm over what she described as a “disturbing pattern” in which judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, an…
Washington Top News
UN expert says Guatemalan prosecutor’s office using criminal law to pursue opponents
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A United Nations expert warned Friday at the conclusion of her two-week visit that Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office is increasingly using…
Associated Press News
UN expert says Guatemalan prosecutor's office using criminal law to pursue opponents
A United Nations expert has warned at the conclusion of her two-week visit that Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office is increasingly using criminal law against former prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, journalists and others.
Guatemala City, Guatemala. A special rapporteur of the UN asked this Friday the questioned prosecutor general of Guatemala to stop the criminalization of people who “fight against corruption.” Since 2021, the prosecutor Consuelo Porras, criticized and sanctioned by the international community, has opened controversial investigations against dozens of former anti-mafias, judges, independent lawyers and journalists, among others, many of them in e…
The Special Rapporteur on the independence of United Nations judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, questioned her visit to Guatemala on Friday for maintaining a policy of criminalization against groups, such as judicial operators, social leaders or journalists, for her allegations against corruption.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, said Friday that Guatemala’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has implemented a criminalization policy, which, she said, is aimed primarily at individuals and groups fighting corruption and impunity. Satterthwaite gave these statements at the end of a 12-day visit to the country. During her stay, she assessed the situation of the justice system und…
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