Harris Trial Postponed: Judges Excuse Themselves From Case
(19 August 2002)
The three judges of the 12th
Criminal Court of Guatemala who were to try Casa Alianza's Director for
defamation today have excused themselves from the case. The trial has been
suspended until the Supreme Court decides whether new judges in the 12th
Criminal Court will proceed with the case or to transfer the case to a new
court.
The legal impasse started at the beginning of August when lawyers representing
Bruce Harris Casa Alianza's Regional Director for Latin American Programs
presented legal arguments to illustrate that the defamation case against him
by Susana Luarca should be held in a civil court rather than a criminal
court. The 12th Criminal Court rejected the arguments and stated, in an
August 7th ruling, "freedom of expression is only for journalists". The fact
that the judges externalized their position before the trial had begun
called their impartiality into question and so Harris' lawyers requested
that the judges reject themselves from the case. The magistrates refused
Harris' request but then announced that they would in fact excuse themselves
from the case citing the accused's questioning of their impartiality.
In the meantime, a wave of international concern has been calling upon
Guatemala to respect freedom of expression. The UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Mary Robinson, "urged Guatemala to implement international
obligations to protect freedom of expression" in Guatemala. Neil Hicks,
Director of the Lawyers Committee's Human Rights Defenders Project stated,
"the persecution of human rights defenders in Guatemala must be ended
immediately, whether such persecution take the form of physical violence and
intimidation, or politically motivated prosecution and imprisonment. The
right of Bruce Harris to speak freely about human rights issues and
violations must be ensured and his criminal prosecution for exercising this
right immediately ended."
For more information, please contact
Bruce Harris
+502-306- 4744
<bruce@casa-alianza.org>
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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world, indeed it's the only thing that ever has". Margaret Mead,
Anthropologist
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