Guatemala
22.02.01
Urgent Interventions
Guatemala:The head of the Department of Criminal Investigation started an investigation of the rape of two street girls.
Case GTM 120201.1.CC/VAW
Follow-up to case GTM 120201.CC/VAW
Child concern/Violence against women
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Guatemala.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, the launch of an investigation started on the rape of two street girls by two uniformed members of the Guatemalan National Civil Police, on 30 January 2001, in Guatemala City.
According to the information received, the head of the Department of Criminal Investigation went to the Casa Alianza office to start an investigation into this case, after hundreds of email concerns for the well being of the two street girls. Also, a total of three newspaper articles (two news reports and one editorial - in the Prensa Libre, El Periodico and Siglo XXI respectively) about the rapes and the global cry of concern were published in national media.
However, no conclusions of the investigations are known yet.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT had been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, of this case of sexual abuse of children.
According to the information received, on 30 January 2001 at approximately 9:00 a.m., approximately 6 street girls from the ages of 12 and up, were staying in an abandoned house in Zone 11 of Guatemala City. Eight uniformed agents, members of the special police, arrived and entered into the house. They did not produce any search warrant and this was not the first time the agents had been there to harass the young homeless girls.
The same source had reported that the agents ordered the girls to stand against the wall and then started to fondle the girls against their will, touching them all over their bodies. One of the 13 year old girls shouted that the police did not have the right to touch them.
While some of the police agents were ordered to leave the house, one of them, described as being fat, stayed in and allegedly threatened the girls with bringing them into a detention centre unless they would have sex with him.
According to the information, another policeman with two gold crowns on his teeth, who was outside in the patio, had ordered to a 14 year old street girl to "show him the house". Once inside, he ordered her to take off her clothes and bend over and he sexually assaulted her. The policeman threatened her and told her to say nothing. The police left the building and the girls stayed scared inside the house for most of the day.
It was reported that the same group of policemen returned to the abandoned building at approximately 9:40 p.m. of the same day, and brought food and drinks for the girls. During that second visit, the same police agent described as being fat, grabbed a 17 year old girl by her hand and took her to a dark room where he fondled her against her will and finally raped her. The police then left.
Remarks and actions requested
The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to thank all those institutions, organizations and individuals who intervened on their behalf, but asks you to keep up writing to the authorities of Guatemala urging them to:
i. guarantee and carry out without delay an independent inquiry into the rape and sexual harassment of these street girls, bring those responsible before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and administrative sanctions provided by law;
ii. guarantee that the above-mentioned girls get access to specialised programmes of medical assistance and rehabilitation;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
S.E. Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 221 44 23 or 334 16 15 or 230-1508 E-mail : secgralp@infovia.com.gt
Sr. Guillermo Ruiz Wong, Ministro de Gobernación, Ministerio de Gobernación, Palacio Nacional, 6 Calle y 7 Avenida, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 362 02 39
Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar , Procurador de Derechos Humanos, Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos, 12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala 01001, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 238 1734 or 2535712 or E-mail: opdhg@guatenet.net.gt
Lic. Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscal General de la Nación, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : + 502 331 4336
Sr. Victor Hugo Monroy, Director of the Guatemalan Government's Human Rights Office, fax +502-334-1615 or E-mail : copredeh@guate.net
Geneva, February 22, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up to case GTM 120201.CC/VAW
Child concern/Violence against women
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Guatemala.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, the launch of an investigation started on the rape of two street girls by two uniformed members of the Guatemalan National Civil Police, on 30 January 2001, in Guatemala City.
According to the information received, the head of the Department of Criminal Investigation went to the Casa Alianza office to start an investigation into this case, after hundreds of email concerns for the well being of the two street girls. Also, a total of three newspaper articles (two news reports and one editorial - in the Prensa Libre, El Periodico and Siglo XXI respectively) about the rapes and the global cry of concern were published in national media.
However, no conclusions of the investigations are known yet.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT had been informed by Casa Alianza, a member of the OMCT network, of this case of sexual abuse of children.
According to the information received, on 30 January 2001 at approximately 9:00 a.m., approximately 6 street girls from the ages of 12 and up, were staying in an abandoned house in Zone 11 of Guatemala City. Eight uniformed agents, members of the special police, arrived and entered into the house. They did not produce any search warrant and this was not the first time the agents had been there to harass the young homeless girls.
The same source had reported that the agents ordered the girls to stand against the wall and then started to fondle the girls against their will, touching them all over their bodies. One of the 13 year old girls shouted that the police did not have the right to touch them.
While some of the police agents were ordered to leave the house, one of them, described as being fat, stayed in and allegedly threatened the girls with bringing them into a detention centre unless they would have sex with him.
According to the information, another policeman with two gold crowns on his teeth, who was outside in the patio, had ordered to a 14 year old street girl to "show him the house". Once inside, he ordered her to take off her clothes and bend over and he sexually assaulted her. The policeman threatened her and told her to say nothing. The police left the building and the girls stayed scared inside the house for most of the day.
It was reported that the same group of policemen returned to the abandoned building at approximately 9:40 p.m. of the same day, and brought food and drinks for the girls. During that second visit, the same police agent described as being fat, grabbed a 17 year old girl by her hand and took her to a dark room where he fondled her against her will and finally raped her. The police then left.
Remarks and actions requested
The International Secretariat of OMCT wishes to thank all those institutions, organizations and individuals who intervened on their behalf, but asks you to keep up writing to the authorities of Guatemala urging them to:
i. guarantee and carry out without delay an independent inquiry into the rape and sexual harassment of these street girls, bring those responsible before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and administrative sanctions provided by law;
ii. guarantee that the above-mentioned girls get access to specialised programmes of medical assistance and rehabilitation;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
S.E. Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera, Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Palacio Nacional, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 221 44 23 or 334 16 15 or 230-1508 E-mail : secgralp@infovia.com.gt
Sr. Guillermo Ruiz Wong, Ministro de Gobernación, Ministerio de Gobernación, Palacio Nacional, 6 Calle y 7 Avenida, Guatemala, Guatemala. Fax : + 502 362 02 39
Lic. Julio Eduardo Arango Escobar , Procurador de Derechos Humanos, Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos, 12 Avenida 12-72, Zona 1, Guatemala 01001, GUATEMALA, Fax: + 502 238 1734 or 2535712 or E-mail: opdhg@guatenet.net.gt
Lic. Adolfo González Rodas, Fiscal General de la Nación, Ministerio Público, 6 Av 3-11, Zona 4, Guatemala. Guatemala. Fax : + 502 331 4336
Sr. Victor Hugo Monroy, Director of the Guatemalan Government's Human Rights Office, fax +502-334-1615 or E-mail : copredeh@guate.net
Geneva, February 22, 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.