A Guatemalan court has handed down significant sentences in a case involving the sexual abuse of Indigenous women during the country’s brutal civil war. In a landmark decision, three former paramilitaries—Pedro Sanchez, Simeon Enriquez, and Felix Tum—have each been sentenced to 40 years in prison for sexually assaulting six Maya Achi Indigenous women between 1981 and 1983. The verdict comes as a crucial milestone in the longstanding pursuit of justice for survivors of what has been described as some of the most violent periods of Guatemala’s civil war, a conflict that resulted in the deaths or disappearances of up to 200,000 individuals.
Judge Maria Eugenia Castellanos emphasized the severity of the crimes committed against the women, noting the recognition of their perpetrators and the places where the assaults occurred, highlighting the victims’ courage in coming forward. The court’s decision was lauded by Indigenous lawyer Haydee Valey, who represented the victims, marking it as a “historic” moment and a significant recognition of the decades-long struggle for justice.
Also, this recent judgment is not the first instance of Guatemalan courts addressing such atrocities; a similar case in January 2022 saw five former paramilitaries sentenced to 30 years in prison for comparable crimes against the Maya Achi women. Advocacy groups, including Impunity Watch, view these court decisions as crucial in exposing the widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon against Indigenous populations during the civil conflict.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/31/guatemala-jails-ex-paramilitaries-for-40-years-over-rapes-during-civil-war?traffic_source=rss
