Guatemalan ex-paramilitaries sentenced to 40 years each in Maya Achi rape trial
Indigenous women from the Achi group participate in a Mayan blessing ceremony in front of the Supreme Court building ahead of the trial of former Guatemalan paramilitaries accused of raping 36 Achi women between 1981 and 1985, during Guatemala's decades-long civil war, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin
Indigenous women from the Achi group participate in a Mayan blessing ceremony in front of the Supreme Court building ahead of the trial of former Guatemalan paramilitaries accused of raping 36 Achi women between 1981 and 1985, during Guatemala's decades-long civil war, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin
Indigenous women from the Achi group participate in a Mayan blessing ceremony in front of the Supreme Court building ahead of the trial of former Guatemalan paramilitaries accused of raping 36 Achi women between 1981 and 1985, during Guatemala's decades-long civil war, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin
Indigenous women from the Achi group participate in a Mayan blessing ceremony in front of the Supreme Court building ahead of the trial of former Guatemalan paramilitaries accused of raping 36 Achi women between 1981 and 1985, during Guatemala's decades-long civil war, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin
Indigenous women from the Achi group participate in a Mayan blessing ceremony in front of the Supreme Court building ahead of the trial of former Guatemalan paramilitaries accused of raping 36 Achi women between 1981 and 1985, during Guatemala's decades-long civil war, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin
GUATEMALA CITY - A top Guatemalan court on Friday sentenced three former paramilitaries each to 40 years in prison after they were found guilty of raping six Indigenous women between 1981 and 1983, the bloodiest period of the Central American nation's civil war.
The trial against the former members of the so-called Civil Self-Defense Patrol, armed groups recruited by the army, began four months ago.
"The soldiers arrived late at night, threw me onto the ground and raped me," Paulina Ixpata, a Maya Achi woman, said during the trial, recounting how she was held for 25 days by the military patrol. "That's how the whole night went."
This is the second trial in the so-called Maya Achi case, and follows reports of sexual violence filed between 2011 and 2015 by 36 victims against former military personnel, military commissioners and civilian self-defense patrol members.
The first trial, which took place in January 2022, saw five former patrol members sentenced to 30 years in prison. They remain incarcerated.
In 2016, a Guatemalan court sentenced former two military officers for holding 15 women from the Q'eqchi community, who are also of Maya origin, as sex slaves at the Sepur Zarco military base, a landmark case that marked the first convictions in Guatemala of military officers for wartime rape.
Both officers were sentenced to a combined 360 years in prison, where they remain incarcerated.
The court also stipulated a reparations program, whose progress remains limited despite advocacy by the 15 women who were at the trial, known as the "Grandmothers of Sepur Zarco." REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
31 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Lavrov, Rubio discuss settlement of war in Ukraine, upcoming talks, say media reports
FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a press conference following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2025. Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed on Sunday prospects for settling the conflict in Ukraine and Russia-Ukraine talks set for Monday in Turkey. 'The situation linked to the Ukraine crisis was discussed,' the ministry said in a statement on its website. 'S.V. Lavrov and M. Rubio also exchanged views on various initiatives concerning a settlement of the Ukraine crisis, including plans to resume direct Russian-Ukrainian talks in Istanbul on June 2.' The US State Department, which noted the call was at Russia's request, said Rubio reiterated US President Donald Trump's call for continued direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to achieve 'a lasting peace'. The ministry also said during the conversation that Rubio expressed condolences over deaths that occurred when two bridges were blown up in separate Russian regions bordering Ukraine. 'It was stressed on the Russian side that competent bodies will proceed with a thorough investigation and the results will be published. The guilty parties will be identified and will without doubt be subject to a worthy punishment.' Russian officials said at least seven people were killed and 69 injured when the two bridges were blown up on Saturday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
China rejects Trump's accusation that it breached Geneva trade deal
The U.S. and Chinese flags are seen on the day of a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, May 10, 2025. KEYSTONE/EDA/Martial Trezzini/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks with with Liao Min, Deputy Minister of Finance of China, during a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and China, in Geneva, Switzerland, May 11, 2025. KEYSTONE/EDA/Martial Trezzini/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo China said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump's accusations that Beijing had violated the consensus reached in Geneva trade talks were "groundless", and promised to take forceful measures to safeguard its interests. The comment by the commerce ministry was in response to Trump's remarks on Friday that China had breached a bilateral deal to roll back tariffs. The ministry said China had implemented and actively upheld the agreement reached last month in Geneva, while the U.S. had introduced multiple "discriminatory restrictive" measures against China. Those measures included issuing guidance on AI chip export controls, halting sales of chip design software to China and revoking visas for Chinese students, the ministry added. "The U.S. government has unilaterally and repeatedly provoked new economic and trade frictions, exacerbating uncertainty and instability in bilateral economic and trade relations," the ministry said in a statement. It did not elaborate on what forceful measures it might take in response. Beijing and Washington agreed in mid-May in Geneva to pause triple-digit tariffs for 90 days. In addition, China also promised to lift trade countermeasures that restricted its exports of the critical metals needed for U.S. semiconductor, electronics and defence production. Trump on Friday also announced a doubling of import tariffs on steel and aluminium to 50%. While China is the world's largest steel producer and exporter, it ships very little to the United States after a 25% tariff imposed in 2018 shut most Chinese steel out of the market. China ranks third among aluminium suppliers. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
UK to publish major defence review to face ‘new era of threat'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer cautioned on June 1 that the UK was being 'directly threatened' by hostile states as his government announced a raft of new defence measures. PHOTO: REUTERS London - Britain is set to publish on June 2 a major review of its defence strategy and armed forces as the government warned of 'growing' Russian aggression and the changing nature of modern warfare. Prime Minister Keir Starmer cautioned on June 1 that the UK was being 'directly threatened' by hostile states as his government announced a raft of new defence measures. 'We will restore Britain's war-fighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces,' he said in a statement. The UK has been racing to rearm in the face of the threat from Russia and fears that US President Donald Trump will no longer help protect Europe. On June 2, the Labour government will publish its Strategic Defence Review, a document that will assess threats facing the UK and make recommendations. The review warns that Britain is entering 'a new era of threat' as drones and artificial intelligence transform modern warfare, The Guardian newspaper reported over the weekend. Mr Starmer said it would serve as 'a blueprint for strength and security for decades to come'. His government pledged in February to lift defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 in the 'largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War'. And despite budget constraints, it aims for spending to rise to 3 per cent in the next parliamentary term, due in 2029. The Labour government has said it will cut UK overseas aid to help fund the spending. 'Daily' attacks The last such defence review was commissioned in 2021 by the previous Conservative government, and was revised in 2023 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Based on the recommendations of the review, which is led by former Nato secretary general George Robertson, Mr Starmer announced measures to boost stockpiles and weapons production capacity, which could be scaled up if needed. This includes £1.5 billion (S$2.6 billion) for building 'at least six munitions and energetics factories', procuring 7,000 domestically built long-range weapons, and spending £6 billion on munitions over the current parliamentary term. The government also said it would build 12 new attack submarines as part of its Aukus military alliance with Australia and the United States, and invest £15 billion in its nuclear warhead programme. The defence ministry last week pledged £1 billion for the creation of a 'cyber command' to help on the battlefield. 'We're in a world that is changing now... and it is a world of growing threats,' Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC in an interview on June 1. 'It's growing Russian aggression. It's those daily cyberattacks, it's new nuclear risks, and it's increasing tension in other parts of the world as well,' he said. 'Sophisticated challenge' While launching the review, Mr Robertson said it would tackle with threats from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, calling them a 'deadly quartet'. But in an op-ed in The Sun, Mr Starmer did not mention China, while warning that 'The Kremlin is working hand in hand with its cronies in Iran and North Korea'. The softer rhetoric on China is in line with the Labour government's efforts to thaw relations with Beijing, which reached new lows under former prime minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government. The review describes Russia as an 'immediate and pressing' threat, but calls China a 'sophisticated and persistent challenge', according to The Guardian. At a time when Washington is demanding that its Nato allies bolster their own defences, Britain is considering strengthening its deterrent by buying nuclear-missile capable aircrafts from the United States, The Sunday Times reported. Without confirming or denying, Mr Healey said on June 1 that 'strong deterrence is absolutely essential in order to keep Britain and the British people safe'. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
