12
identification of the soldiers mentioned as responsible for the facts; neither the
Supreme Court of Justice nor the Attorney General’s office has followed up on this
request.
A request should be made for the judge to receive the statements, as defendants, of
the former members of PAC, military agents, members of the Judicial Police, and
soldiers who have been identified as participants in the massacre. Also, the Army
should be asked to provide information on the officers and soldiers who were serving
in that part of the country at the time. In addition, the bodies of the victims should
be examined to verify whether there is evidence of the type of weapons used and
any other kind of information.
d)
Statement of José Fernando Moscoso Möller, Archeology
graduate, with a postgraduate degree in Latin American Studies
The first exhumation (trenches 1 to 21) was conducted in Plan de Sánchez on June
14, 1994, and the second exhumation (trench 22) on August 14, 1996. At the time
of the first exhumation, no work was done on trench 22, because the office of the
Baja Verapaz Auxiliary Prosecutor did not authorize this until later.
Two clandestine cemeteries were found in the village of Plan de Sánchez. The first
comprised 16 trenches that contained osseous remains, 3 trenches with artifacts
only, and two trenches where nothing was found. The other cemetery had one trench
with osseous remains.
The minimum number of victims in the first 21 trenches was 84, based on the count
of the most-often encountered bone. Of the 84 victims counted, it was possible to
identify 25. Four victims were found in the second clandestine cemetery, and they
were subsequently identified. Since a large part of the osseous remains were
calcined and, according to testimonies, some of the non-calcined corpses were buried
in other places by the next of kin themselves, it was not possible to determine
whether there were more victims.
From his experience of forensic anthropology and exhumations, and from the facts
that have been narrated, he can conclude that the findings in the 21 trenches where
exhumations were conducted lead to the presumption that the events that occurred
in Plan de Sánchez were consistent with an operation designed to destroy and
annihilate the Maya-Achí indigenous group; the majority group in the region.
*
*
*
33.
The expert witness, Nieves Gómez Dupuis, submitted a written report during
the public hearing (supra para. 17).8
34.
The representatives presented several attachments, together with their final
written arguments (supra para. 19).9
8
Cf. written report presented by the expert witness, Nieves Gómez Dupuis, on April 24, 2004, (file
on preliminary objections and merits and reparations, tome III, folios 625 to 638).
9
Cf. file of appendixes to the final written arguments of the victims’ representatives, tome I,
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