Although she has kept out of the public spotlight
in recent months, Mexico’s La Jornada
managed to get an exclusive interview with Judge Iris Yassmin Barrios, who
headed the tribunal overseeing the case against former Guatemalan dictator
Efrain Rios Montt earlier this year. She
was surprisingly optimistic about the future of the trial, and about what it said
about the strength of the country’s institutions.
According to Barrios, the May 20 annulment
of Rios Montt’s conviction on charges of genocide and crimes against
humanity did not represent “defeat.” As she put it, “the trial, as a whole, was
a breakthrough for Guatemala, especially for its judicial system. In spite of
all of the attacks in the media campaign that we took, we demonstrated that
there is judicial independence, that there are judges who are committed, responsible,
and have integrity, and who know the law.”
The interview continues:
Do you feel satisfied with the fact that in this country there has been the opportunity to issue a sentence for genocide like the one you handed down; that at least the general was held for a single weekend in a cell?
It’s not about personal satisfaction. It must be seen from another point of view. It gave the opportunity for victims to have a say in the process. The constitutional guarantees of the accused were respected. And on May 13, after the sentencing, a hearing was on reparation for the victims and the court proceeded to analyze the requests of the complainants and respond to them properly. And I must say, they did not ask for economic reparations, but had much more fundamental petitions.
We showed that Guatemala, with its economic and political shortcomings, has the ability to spark a debate a that was observed by many legal experts worldwide, who certified that the court satisfied the strictest standards of justice.
What's next? When does the process resume?
We do not know, that's one of the issues that the Constitutional Court left in the air.
You have excused yourself from continuing to hear the case. Why?
The court mandates that the debate after April 19 is cancelled. We cannot accept illegal orders. According to our legal system, that would not be possible because once a ruling was previously issued, we cannot go back in time, to pretend that nothing happened. It is unethical and incorrect, and is not procedurally feasible.
In the new phase of the trial, if it ever comes to resume, will it recognize the testimonies of victims which have been issued or will they have to travel from their villages to the capital to declare once again?
It’s sad, but I think the victims would have to return for one reason: the judges who reach the tribunal cannot pass judgment if they have not listened to the people. The Court overturned everything.
The rest of the interview, in Spanish, can
be read at La Jornada or Guatemala’s Plaza
Publica, which has reposted it. Barrios goes on to further discuss her impressions of the trial, her professional career and the highly public criticism she continues to face from Rios Montt's legal team.
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