25 May 2023
Claudia González Orellana is a Guatemalan lawyer with a strong track record in strengthening judicial independence and the rule of law in the country. She worked as a prosecutor for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) for eight years, during which she investigated and exposed corruption in various branches of the government. Before this, impunity had been the norm in Guatemala. The CICIG played a key role in strengthening the justice system, leading to many breakthroughs in important corruption cases and impunity for serious human rights abuses–resulting in an unprecedented period of accountability.
In 2019, the CICIG was forcibly closed, sparking widespread systematic persecution and criminalisation of those at the forefront of the fight against impunity and corruption, from judges to prosecutors. In fact, the institutionalised repression has driven 150 human rights defenders into exile. González currently serves as the defence counsel of nine persecuted lawyers, including anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparra, who was arbitrarily detained and sentenced this past year.
On 11 May 2023, González received the Lawyers for Lawyers award in Amsterdam for her courageous 20 years of work. The award is a recognition of the personal risk she faces in representing human rights defenders, and in continuing to advocate publicly about violations and the dismantling of the rule of law and judicial independence.
Impunity Watch’s Iman Ghosh spoke to González about her work and how she upholds the fight against impunity in the face of adversity. Responses have been edited for clarity.
Which case had the biggest impact on your professional life?
In the 1990s, I worked for the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese. I went to see young people who were forcibly recruited into the military, and were really suffering in terrible conditions. Being able to reunite them with their families gave me satisfaction, and also made me think about the importance of the rule of law to reduce suffering–something I am reflecting on right now.
Another example is the case of Virginia Laparra, who has been held in very bad conditions in prison, with only an hour of daylight, and denied medical attention. As her lawyer, I really needed to fight to ensure she could see her family. Seeing her now in better conditions makes me happy. Even in such circumstances, improvements in wellbeing and mental health are important as they enable people to make better decisions.
Can you tell us more about Virginia Laparra’s case, and what is her situation at this time?
Virginia Laparra is an excellent lawyer and prosecutor with a 16-year career. In all those years, she’s always said that she loves doing her work. When the criminalisation of justice actors started, no one ever thought that it would get to this level, that it would actually put people in prison.
When she was arrested, there was a lot of misogyny and violence against her. This played out throughout the justice system, from how she was treated by judges, the prosecutor, and various civil parties adhered to the case.
What are some examples of this misogynistic treatment?
When they arrested her, there was no risk that she would flee, so she could have easily been held at home. However, the judge claimed that because she was an educated woman, she would “utilise” the fact that she is a woman to try and manipulate the situation in her favour [and thus she was arbitrarily detained].
There were also intersectional issues of racism. In the case of Virginia, I was working alongside an indigenous lawyer. In the courts, they said to her, “oh, we can’t understand you, I want to speak to the other lawyer”. So apart from the misogyny, it’s also the racism clearly showing.
A person holds up a poster that reads “Persecution against former prosecutor Virginia” with a photo of her during her trial. (Photo credit: Impunity Watch)
In your Lawyers for Lawyers acceptance speech, you said that “Guatemala is experiencing the worst erosion of its democratic institutions since the transition of 1996”. What is the reason for the persecution against justice actors in Guatemala?
It’s a big plan to take revenge on justice actors who worked together at the CICIG. The CICIG, you need to understand, accused very powerful people of all sectors–from military, presidents, presidents of congress, of all levels. [Note: these investigations resulted in over 400 convictions]. Those [powerful, corrupt groups] started to attack those who were making this accountability possible and push back against the existing progress that was made.
It started when Iván Velásquez [head of the CICIG], was not allowed back into the country following a work trip abroad. This precipitated attacks on the CICIG until it closed down in 2019.
We knew they were going to use the judicial system to go after those of us who had worked with the CICIG, but they also started to go after those in the prosecutor’s office, in particular Juan Francisco Sandoval [Head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity]. I was Sandoval’s defence lawyer, and what started with 19 cases turned into 180 cases. Only against him, only for one person. And I have other [clients], and the number grows.
In January, the lawyer Rootman Pérez [who was defending Thelma Aldana, former Attorney General], was forced to leave the country. With more people leaving, the work was accumulating, and so were the attacks against the defence lawyers. It started with Rootman, but it was also a systematic pattern of attacks on lawyers.
Another really famous example is Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa–who defended the head of elPeriódico, José Rubén Zamora, who was also detained based on fabricated accusations. Foppa was not only Zamora’s lawyer, but also took a lot of other cases [in human rights and other fields]. So you are constantly feeling the pressure.
[Note: Zamora’s detention resulted in the destruction of a Guatemalan independent newspaper–elPeriódico was forced to close in May 2023 amid the crackdown on justice actors. This poses a severe threat to the freedom of expression in the country. The photo to the left shows the front page of the final elPeriódico edition, published May 15, 2023. (Photo credit: elPeriódico)
Moreover, Foppa previously also investigated tax abuses by powerful people, which explains why he has been targeted.]
So not only do you have justice operators under attack, but [the State] is also targeting their lawyers. Basically, you have a system where there is no independent justice anymore.
What are the main challenges currently facing lawyers and human rights defenders in Guatemala, especially women?
The first challenge is the erosion of institutions. Justice institutions are now an instrument to attack and undermine human rights. On all levels, you will find that the system reinforces impunity. There is no legal way to respond [against a deeply authoritarian system].
Second is the lack of social support. In Guatemala, we have institutions that are responsible to monitor and defend human rights independently, such as the Human Rights Ombudsman and the election monitoring system. But with institutions such as the media being closed down and overtaken by corrupt persons, we lose social control over the actions of the government and justice system … It means that we cannot, at this time, fight and challenge the impunity that we’re living, and this makes the situation really unprotected.
Finally, the system doubly attacks women, simply for being women. In response, we have allied with women organisations in Guatemala, who have been very brave in supporting and speaking out. This solidarity network has also extended to Mexico, where organisations are defending women lawyers and their victimisation in Guatemala. They are making complaints together to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations to seek legal support and protection.
Another very important strategy forward is communications to educate and inform the public on [the truth of] cases, so that people understand that justice is not independent, and that the charges are wrongful. Impunity Watch has been one of the organisations helping with these public awareness campaigns–such as the active support for Virginia Laparra–and also informing Prensa Comunitaria [Community Press], so that people on all levels get to know about what is happening.
The role of indigenous [and women] lawyers and people is also vital, because they bring a historical memory of injustice, and focus on the long-term. They have been fighting this fight for many decades. They do not doubt that fighting for change is a long term battle that comes with ups and downs, but that there is no choice but to continue following that path. So if they continue to have the strength and continue to see possibilities, we must support them and stand in solidarity, to do the same.
How do you see the future of justice in Guatemala?
Before, we had democracy. Now, we are down to zero, but we cannot give in. We need to start from scratch to recreate the institutions. An important starting point is that in Guatemala, we need to demand a legal re-election of the courts, which has not happened for eight years now.
Even though that means a lot of corrupt judges would [be re-elected], it would give a bit of momentum and a new entry point to start [transforming] the system. We can’t counter the current trend of State capture and impunity alone. This is why we are asking for support from the international community and international organisations to help us with this reconstruction.
A man holds a banner, which reads “We don’t want to go back to the past! / Zury Ríos represents racism and genocide”, at the commemoration of the National Day for the Dignity of the Victims of Guatemala’s Armed Conflict on 25 February 2023. (Photo credit: Carlos Alonzo for Impunity Watch)
What can the international community do to re-establish the rule of law in Guatemala?
What everyone needs to understand is we live in a globalised world. It cannot be that respect for human rights needs to be discussed again. There is an argument of sovereignty used all the time, also by the international community. But we cannot fall for that argument to not speak out. If there’s a violation of human rights, then the international community needs to demand that there’s compliance with those human rights, but that’s currently not happening.
As you are touring Brussels and The Hague, what is your message to policymakers in Europe?
Europe has a huge debt [to] Guatemala. They have invested a lot in fighting impunity, fighting corruption–but they have abandoned us. But what they should do is continue fighting for human rights. It’s an obligation according to international [treaties] as well. They should pick up on that.
What does a world without impunity look like to you?
A dream … Even the question gives me a lot of anger. Because in Guatemala, people in power are using their impunity to enrich themselves. All the money they use to enrich themselves means there is no education, no functioning health system, there is no help. There are people, especially youth and children [in malnutrition], dying from hunger. This gives me so much anger, it is so unjust.
How do you see your professional future?
I don’t know. I really don’t know. In an ideal world, I would have thought to move in other directions, I would really like to [pass the baton] to young people. But the conditions now mean that I cannot give up. I strongly promote bringing youth in more, as the rule of law needs to be reconstructed which will take a long time. It requires the energy and commitment of young people to take that fight forwards. I will not rest until this is on track, and if I have to do that from jail, then I will do it from jail, because it is crucial. But yes, it’s a real risk.
Many people choose to leave the country, and [we can all] understand why. But if I leave, then what happens to the people in jail? I feel a responsibility to these people to stay. If I am arrested, then I will [use my arrest] to show that I have done nothing wrong and that the system is corrupt. That the system is the problem, not us. [You would hope] that these malicious arrests/ acts of criminalisation also signals to the Guatemalan society and the international community that things need to change.
What gives you hope in this fight?
First, it’s my commitment to human rights that will always inspire me, I’ve always had it. Second is my family, they have supported me all the way to do this, and it has really reinforced me. And third, I am not in this alone. We are frustrated as a human rights community of course, but we share the same objective, and it continues to be a huge source of inspiration.
Find out more about our work in Guatemala