Trial of Activist Facing Jail Time for
Speaking Out Suspended
Judges Recuse Themselves After Their Impartiality Is Questioned
NEW YORK – Three judges who sit on Guatemala's 12th Criminal
Court excused themselves from hearing the defamation case against
Casa Alianza Director Bruce Harris on Aug. 16 after Harris questioned
their ability to hear the case in an impartial manner. The judges
action makes it unclear if the case will go forward in the 12th Criminal
Court or if it will be moved to another court.
The case caught the attention of Human Rights First since it
brings Harris – a world renowned advocate for Guatemala’s
street children – to trial on criminal charges for something
he allegedly said during a press conference on the release of an
official report about the buying and selling of children.
“This case is more about intimidating and attempting to silence
Bruce Harris, than it is about defamation,” said Lorna Davidson,
a spokesperson for Human Rights First. “Freedom
of expression is a fundamental human right, subject only to limited
restrictions. Charges of defamation belong in a civil court room
– not a criminal one.”
Harris was charged with criminal defamation in 1997, upon the complaint
of Ms. Susana Maria Luarca Saracho de Umaña, a lawyer married
to the then President of the Supreme Court. The complaint was filed
by Ms. Umaña following a press conference given jointly by
Casa Alianza and the Guatemalan Solicitor General’s office.
This press conference was organized to announce the results of an
investigation conducted by Casa Alianza and the Solicitor General’s
office into the trafficking of children through Guatemala. During
the conference, Mr. Harris is said to have alleged that Ms. Umaña
had used “undue influence” with the government authorities
in facilitating international adoptions. Ms. Umaña was among
several other lawyers named in criminal accusations related to child
trafficking filed after the joint investigation.
Ever since the charges were brought, Harris has challenged the jurisdiction
of Guatemala's criminal courts over the case, arguing that it is
fundamentally an issue of freedom of expression.
In 1999, however, the Constitutional Court rejected these arguments,
stating that the case did not concern freedom of expression. After
a trial date was set for Aug. 16, 2002, Harris challenged the jurisdiction
of the 12th Criminal Court, but its judges again ruled against him.
Instead, the three judges announced that they would recuse themselves
from hearing the case, as Harris had questioned their impartiality.
The matter will now go to Guatemala's Supreme Court, which must
decide whether to re-constitute the 12th Criminal Court to conduct
the trial, or transfer the case to another court.
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