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New Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Guatemala convicts 6 former officials in the 2017 deaths of 41 girls in a state facility fire
GUATEMALA CITY: A Guatemalan judge on Tuesday convicted six former officials in connection with the deaths of 41 girls in a 2017 fire at a facility for at-risk youth that had a history of abuse. The six had all pleaded not guilty. Judge Ingrid Cifuentes handed down cumulative sentences of between six years and 25 years for charges ranging from manslaughter to abuse of authority. She also ordered the investigation of former President Jimmy Morales for his role in ordering police to work at the facility housing minors who had not committed any crimes. Prosecutors had requested sentences of up to 131 years for some of the suspects, who were all former government workers, including several whose duties included protecting children. Emily del Cid Linares, 25, a survivor of the fire who suffered burns, said she was satisfied with the verdict. 'I feel like a weight has been lifted from me,' she said. 'What I most feel is that they (the victims) will be able to rest in peace. (Those responsible) are going to pay for what they did.' Former Social Welfare Secretary Carlos Rodas was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Earlier, Rodas told those gathered in the courtroom, including relatives of the victims, that he had not caused 'any harm to their daughters and the survivors.' Also among those convicted was ex-police officer Lucinda Marroquín, who held the key to the room where the girls were locked up and didn't open it when the fire started. She was sentenced to 13 years. The judge said that through phone records, investigators were able to establish that at the time of the fire, Marroquín was talking on her phone and when told about the blaze, a witness testified that she responded with profanity and said 'let them burn.' A former government prosecutor assigned to the protection of children was acquitted.
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
Guatemala sentences officials over 2017 shelter fire killing 41 girls
GUATEMALA CITY: A Guatemalan court on Tuesday sentenced six people to prison terms ranging from six to 25 years for their roles in a 2017 fire that killed 41 girls at a state-run youth shelter. The defendants - two former police officers and four former child protection officials - were convicted of homicide, mistreatment of minors, abuse of authority and breach of duty. The sentences mark a significant step in a national tragedy that drew international condemnation and exposed systemic abuse within Guatemala's state shelters. The fire broke out on March 8, 2017, at the Virgen de la Asunción Safe Home near Guatemala City. According to testimony, 56 girls were padlocked in a small room as punishment for protesting abuse and attempting to escape. After hours inside, one girl set a mattress on fire, hoping to force guards to open the door. Witnesses testified that despite the girls' cries for help, police waited nine minutes to unlock the door. The blaze ultimately killed 41 girls and left 15 survivors with severe burns. 'I know my truth and the truth of my friends who no longer have a voice,' survivor Elba Contreras told the court last month. 'The only thing I ask ... is that you issue a fair sentence ... confirming that these people are guilty.' In her ruling, Judge Ingrid Cifuentes also ordered an investigation into former President Jimmy Morales, who was in office at the time. She cited a lack of jurisdiction for not ruling on charges against a seventh defendant, the country's former children's prosecutor. - Reuters
New York Times
6 days ago
- New York Times
Six Convicted in 2017 Fire That Killed 41 Girls in Guatemala Group Home
Six former Guatemalan public officials were convicted on Tuesday in connection with a 2017 fire that killed 41 girls who had been locked in a classroom in a government-run group home. Ingrid Cifuentes, a judge in Guatemala City, handed down cumulative prison sentences as long as 25 years and some as short as six years against the six defendants, who had pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors had sought longer sentences. Family members of the girls cried and hugged while sitting in the courtroom during the hearing. The fire, which occurred on March 8, 2017, was one of the deadliest tragedies in Guatemala since the end of the civil war decades ago. The blaze broke out in a home for at-risk youth who had been placed there by the government. Santos Torres, the former head of the home, called Hogar Seguro Virgen de la Asunción, and Carlos Rodas, the former head of the government's social welfare office, were each sentenced to at least 20 years in prison on charges of child abuse, dereliction of duty, abuse of authority and manslaughter. Lucinda Marroquín — a former Guatemalan national police officer who had a key to the classroom but did not immediately open the door, the judge said — was sentenced to at least 13 years. Brenda Chamán, who oversaw the group home's office against abuse, received at least 12 years in prison; Luis Pérez Borja, a former national police subcommissioner, was sentenced to at least six years; and Gloria Castro, a former ombudsman focused on children's abuses, was sentenced to six years. They were convicted of a variety of crimes, including child abuse, dereliction of duty, abuse of authority and manslaughter. A seventh former public official, Harold Flores, the former head the child and adolescent protection division at a government office, was acquitted. The group home, in the town of San José Pinula, about 13 miles from Guatemala City, was created for children with nowhere else to go but had a reputation for abuses. During the hearing on Tuesday, the judge highlighted a series of such abuses reported at the home. Before the fire, nearly 100 of the children there had decided to flee en masse. But officials rounded them up and locked them inside: the boys in an auditorium and the girls in a small classroom. After hours of incarceration — in which the girls were not allowed to use the bathroom — someone lit a match, thinking that a fire might force the police to let them out. Instead, most of the girls died as more than a dozen police officers argued over whether their supervisor, standing 10 feet away, should unlock the door with the keys hanging from her belt, according to court testimony. The girls, who had broken no laws and were between 12 and 17 years old, had been survivors of sexual abuse, violence or abandonment — often at the hands of their own families. Edgar Pérez, a human rights lawyer who represented some of the victims and their families, said that it was unlikely that the former public officials would soon end up in jail because the sentences may be appealed. But he said the sentencing showed 'that the state failed and the public officials that oversaw the child-protection system didn't fulfill their duties.' Elba Contreras, 22, who survived the fire, applauded the sentences and the judge's order for a series of investigations into the case, including into former President Jimmy Morales for his role in ordering the police to go to the group home. Ms. Contreras said the girls 'will now rest in peace,' and 'I can let them go.'
Al Jazeera
6 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Guatemala judge convicts 6 ex-officials in deaths of 41 girls in 2017 fire
A Guatemalan court has convicted six people in connection with the deaths of 41 girls at a state-funded youth shelter in 2017. On Tuesday, Judge Ingrid Cifuentes gave the former officials, who had all pleaded not guilty, sentences of between six and 25 years for charges ranging from abuse of authority to manslaughter. Two of the people convicted were ex-police officers, while the other four were ex-child protection officials. Prosecutors had sought sentences of up to 131 years for some of those on trial. The judge said she did not have the jurisdiction to make a ruling against a seventh defendant, who used to be the children's prosecutor at the attorney general's office. As well as handing down the prison terms, Cifuentes also ordered an investigation into former President Jimmy Morales, who was Guatemala's leader at the time of the blaze. Emily del Cid Linares, 25, a survivor of the fire who suffered burns, said she was satisfied with the verdict. 'I feel like a weight has been lifted from me,' she said. 'What I most feel is that they [the victims] will be able to rest in peace. [Those responsible] are going to pay for what they did.' The tragedy at the Virgen de la Asuncion youth shelter, which is located 22km (14 miles) east of the capital, Guatemala City, shook the country and went on to highlight the widespread abuse in the government's shelter system. The fire broke out on March 8, 2017, a year after the home, which housed hundreds more children than its legal capacity, was ordered to close by a court. The blaze started in a classroom in which 56 girls had been locked after their attempt to escape the shelter the previous day. After being brought back to the site by the police, they were shut in a room with no access to a toilet. Witnesses said that one of the girls set fire to their foam mattresses to protest against their treatment at the home, which is alleged to have included sexual abuse. Nineteen girls died on March 8 from their injuries, with a further 22 later succumbing to their injuries. The fire also severely injured 15 others.
Toronto Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Guatemala convicts 6 former officials in the 2017 deaths of 41 girls in a state facility fire
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan judge on Tuesday convicted six former officials in connection with the deaths of 41 girls in a 2017 fire at a facility for at-risk youth that had a history of abuse. The six had all pleaded not guilty. Judge Ingrid Cifuentes handed down cumulative sentences of between six years and 25 years for charges ranging from manslaughter to abuse of authority. She also ordered the investigation of former President Jimmy Morales for his role in ordering police to work at the facility housing minors who had not committed any crimes.
