By Nelton Rivera
Karim Ahmad Khan, current Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), participated in an activity on May 13 at the National Palace of Culture together with María Consuelo Porras, Attorney General of the Public Ministry (MP) and Foreign Minister Mario vase.
The ICC is a permanent instance to try cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Khan’s visit generated the indignation and condemnation of survivors and families of victims of the war in this country, as well as movements and social organizations that fight to achieve justice for the crimes and violations of human rights perpetrated under the protection of the State between 1960- nineteen ninety six.
The inconvenience originates because the ICC prosecutor held a hearing unilaterally, only with the central government, without taking civil society into account, breaking with the continuity of the ways of working of the previous directions with which they have coordinated in a narrow way.
The ICC Prosecutor, a 53-year-old British lawyer, took part in the act of exchanging the Rose of Peace, at the Palace of Culture, and was named “Messenger of Peace” by President Alejandro Giammattei.
“This daily ritual is testimony to the commitment of the Guatemalan people to peace, human rights and the law. It shows a willingness to do what we so often promise but fail to do: never forget. It’s something we should all be inspired by. The flower of justice grows in all lands and it grows here in Guatemala too,” Khan said in his speech.
The visit of the head of the International Criminal Court was characterized by the absence of public information and calls to the media, quotes a statement from the Guatemalan Coalition for the ICC.
“We express our surprise, indignation and annoyance, given the lack of respect for the victims, relatives of victims and organizations that fight for respect for human rights and justice, due to the statements of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan, at the time of the renewal ceremony of the Rose of Peace, held on May 13, 2023…”, the statement quoted.
Khan’s visit occurs in a context of authoritarian regression, of political persecution of independent prosecutors and judges who have heard and resolved sentences on crimes against humanity, where high-ranking army and paramilitary commanders have been identified and convicted.
In contrast as -comparative grievance- Khan met with the group of officials, some of them accused of corruption, blatant looting, repression, criminalization and exile of judges, prosecutors, human rights defenders, journalists, media, leaders, communicators community members and activists persecuted, notes the Coalition.
Khan’s visit also occurs at a time when historical processes and sentences such as the genocide against the Ixil people, the Massacre of the Spanish Embassy, Sepur Zarco, the Molina Theissen case, Achí Women and the trials currently in process such as those of Dos Erres, Diario Militar and Creompaz face obstacles due to the dismissal of prosecutors and persecution of judges.
The government’s double standards
The government agenda showed the visit of the ICC Prosecutor as an achievement and support from this Court to the government and to other actors accused of corruption, such as Attorney General Consuelo Porras, indicated in the Engel List, by the United States Department of State. , as an actor who has promoted corruption and impunity from his role.
On the other hand, Giammattei’s strategy has revolved around publicly showing his support for the actions of the United States and the European Union in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, to such an extent that the president himself visited Volodimir Zelenski in July last year. in that eastern European country.
The visit was carried out despite strong indications of Giammattei’s relationship with two of the main Russian transnational companies operating in the country, namely Telf Ag, owned by Russian Stanislav Kondrashov and Solway Investment Group, owned by Dan Bronstein, both operate the companies Mayaníquel and Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN).
The government promotes an international agenda in favor of Ukraine and in the country, the close political and commercial relationship with two Russian multinationals.
On May 19, 2023, the Russian Ministry of the Interior issued an international arrest warrant against Karim Ahmad Khan, in response to the request of the International Criminal Court that, two days earlier, ordered the capture of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin for the “alleged responsibility in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russian territory”, as reported Los Angeles Times.
Karim Ahmad Khan’s visit also coincides with the trial and political imprisonment of Jose Rubén Zamora, journalist and director of the now-defunct newspaper elPeriódico. Zamora was arrested at the end of July 2022, months after publishing an investigation that showed Giammattei’s relationship with Russian businessmen.
A complaint that indicated the delivery of cash wrapped in a rug and that was allegedly transferred to the house of Alejandro Giammattei, in zone 15, a case that the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), directed by Juan Francisco Sandoval, was doing research.
Community Press Source
