81
134.89.
several months later, in April or May, 1991, the new Director of the
National Police supplied a copy of the first police report prepared by José Mérida
Escobar and Julio Pérez Ixcajop to the Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, who in
June of that same year included it in the court file.202 On June 26, 1991, investigator
Mérida Escobar testified before the court and ratified his September 29, 1990
report;203
Lack of cooperation by the Ministry of National Defense and the Presidential General
Staff
134.90.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office and the private accuser have requested,
through the judiciary, specific documents and information from the Ministry of
National Defense and the Presidential General Staff with the aim of adding evidence
to the judicial proceeding. Said bodies have systematically refused to provide certain
information requested by the court authorities or have provided only part of the
information required, arguing that the documents they do not supply deal with
natural security matters, and that they constitute confidential information pursuant
to Article 30 of the Political Constitution of Guatemala. The Presidential General Staff
and the Ministry of National Defense have also forwarded altered documents204 to the
authorities in charge of the investigation for the murder of Myrna Mack Chang;205
Lack of cooperation by the judiciary bodies
134.91.
on April 30, 1996, the special civil prosecutor, appointed to conduct the
investigation under the provisions of the new Criminal Procedures Code, asked the
Military Court of First Instance of the Department of Guatemala for production of
evidence to ensure its availability for subsequent inclusion into the proceedings, with
respect to the testimony of Virgilio Rodríguez Santana, Rember Larios Tobar, Julio
Pérez Ixcajop, Juan Marroquín Tejeda, and José Tejeda Hernández, who had left
annexes to the brief with requests, pleadings and evidence submitted by the representatives of the next
of kin of the victim, annex R-VII-38, leaves 3146 to 3158); and testimony of Rember Larios Tobar
rendered before the Court on February 19, 2003.
202
Cf. testimony of Rember Larios Tobar rendered before the Court on February 19, 2003; and
report by the Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico, “Guatemala, memoria del silencio,” volume VI,
pages 239 to 240 (file with annexes to the application, annex 42, leaves 790 to 791).
203
Cf. statement by police investigator José Mérida Escobar before the Second Criminal Trial Court
of First Instance on June 26, 1991 (file with annexes to the application, annex 46, leaves 871 to 880);
and testimony of Rember Larios Tobar rendered before the Court on February 19, 2003.
204
For example, the personal record of Noel de Jesús Beteta Álvarez kept at the Presidential
General Staff and the orders for deduction issued by the Military Medical Center from July 5, 1990 to
September 18, 1990, in which they stated that Beteta Álvarez had been “discharged” or was “not in
active service” during the time of the facts. Cf. personal record of Noel de Jesús Beteta Álvarez kept by
the Presidential General Staff and the deduction orders issued by the Military Medical Center from July 5,
1990 to September 18, 1990 (file with annexes to the brief with requests, pleadings and evidence
submitted by the representatives of the next of kin of the victim, annex R-III-05, leaves 1873 to 1888).
205
Cf. testimony by Helen Mack Chang and Gabriela Judith Vásquez Smerilli rendered before the
Court on February 18 and 19, 2003; expert opinions of Mónica Pinto and Iduvina Hernández rendered
before the Court on February 18 and 19, 2003; personal record of Noel de Jesús Beteta Álvarez kept by
the Presidential General Staff and deduction orders issued by the Military Medical Center from July 5,
1990 to September 18, 1990 (file with annexes to the brief with requests, pleadings and evidence
submitted by the representatives of the next of kin of the victim, annex R-III-05, leaves 1873 to 1888);
and report by the Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico, “Guatemala, memoria del silencio” of June,
1999, volume VI, pages 242 to 243 (file with annexes to the application, annex 42, leaf 792).
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