This content was published on 02 February 2021 – 00:02
Guatemala, Feb 1 (EFE) .- The Higher Risk Court D of Guatemala issued this Monday an arrest warrant on charges of “conspiracy to obstruct justice” against Mynor Moto Morataya, a lawyer elected in January as magistrate of the the country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court.
The Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) detailed in a press release that Moto Morataya’s arrest warrant originates from the case called “Parallel Commissions 2020” and that several search warrants are currently being executed to capture the lawyer.
The case “Parallel Commissions 2020” is a high impact investigation by the MP’s Special Prosecutor Against Impunity that revealed last year the interests of several politicians and judges to control the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Justice, the two most important bodies for Justice in the country.
The arrest warrant against Moto Morataya was issued by the Higher Risk Court D of the Guatemalan Judicial Body, headed by Judge Erika Aifán, at the request of the Public Ministry.
SWORN IN OFFICE
Moto Morataya was sworn in on January 26 at night by the Guatemalan Congress with the vote of 82 deputies with a majority of the ruling party or allies to the political group Vamos, of the Guatemalan president, Alejandro Giammattei.
The swearing in of Moto Morataya generated discontent in various sectors and governments, including the United States, which spoke out on the matter in the following hours.
“This appointment by the Guatemalan Congress calls into question the integrity of Guatemala’s highest court, weakening the rule of law and undermining a key US priority,” the US State Department said in a statement. .
The press release from Washington came after the US embassy in Guatemala also questioned the magistrate’s appointment and stated that it is “essential to protect justice.”
The procedure by which he was sworn in by the President of Congress had been suspended on January 26 by the Constitutional Court itself, as a result of an appeal for protection filed by a private citizen.
Congress initially “did not want to receive notification” to suspend the swearing in, according to what the Constitutional Court told journalists, although it finally did, but in the same way it swore in Moto Morataya.
The Constitutional Court, which is made up of five titular magistrates, explained in a press release on January 26 that it had processed the petition raised in the appeal for amparo for irregularities in the election procedure of Moto Morataya and that therefore so much the oath should be suspended.
NO IMMUNITY
Moto Morataya subsequently appeared for several days last week at the facilities of the Constitutional Court in order to take office, but was prevented from 11 pending appeals against his appointment.
Until January 26, Moto Morataya served as a criminal instance judge and his arrival at the Constitutional Court proceeded after being elected to occupy a position in the highest court by the Guatemalan Bar and Notaries Association (CANG) in January.
The elections carried out by the CANG had more than 6,000 lawyers and in two rounds Moto Morataya the election was accredited.
The position as a criminal court judge represented Moto Morataya immunity from being charged by the authorities. However, by leaving his post in the Judicial Branch due to a leave of absence and not taking office in the Constitutional Court, the Public Ministry considered that he has no further immunity.
Access to the Constitutional Court of Moto Morataya, only for three months, has as its origin the death in 2020 of magistrate Bonerje Mejía, who was supposed to serve the period from April 2016 to April 2021.
Precisely next April will be the election of the five new magistrates of the Constitutional Court, a designation that according to experts is key in the fight against corruption in the Central American country. EFE
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