Guatemalan judge frees colonel accused of slaying bishop during country’s brutal civil war
Guatemalan judge frees colonel accused of slaying bishop during country’s brutal civil war
By Associated Press, Published: July 13
GUATEMALA CITY — Roman Catholic Church officials say a Guatemalan judge has ordered the release of a former colonel sentenced to 20 years in prison for the killing of a bishop during the Central American country’s 36-year civil war.
Byron Disrael Lima Estrada was freed for good behavior after serving 11 years for his conviction in the murder of Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi. The 80-year-old former soldier had been hospitalized the past seven years.
Archdiocese spokesman Nery Rodenas says the church received formal notification of the release Friday.
Gerardi was slain in April 1998, two days after releasing a report on abuses of power during the civil war. Many of the abuses were blamed on the army.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/guatemalan-judge-frees-colonel-accused-of-slaying-bishop-during-countrys-brutal-civil-war/2012/07/13/gJQAMCBkiW_story.html
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The former colonel served half the sentence of
20 years and was granted redemption for good
behavior and health.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008Monsignor Gerardi: 10 Years of Martyrdom
Guatemala City, Guatemala.
April 26, 2008.
Issue: Impunity / Historical Memory
“Monsignor Juan Jose Gerardi Conodera, former Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Guatemala, was brutally murdered on April 26, 1998, in the garage of San Sebastian Church’s parochial house. Two days earlier, Monsignor Gerardi had presented the Recuperation of Historic Memory (REMHI) report: Guatemala Never Again. A compilation of testimonies and other documents, the REMHI report relates the atrocities carried out mostly against indigenous poor civilians during the 36-year internal conflict which left over 200,000 mortal victims.” (1)
“Those who could not tolerate the truth cut down the life of a man who, by doing so, made of Monsignor a true witness who signed the veracity of the report with his own blood.” (2)
More:
http://www.mimundo-photoessays.org/2008/04/monsignor-gerardi-10-years-of-martyrdom.html
