Upcoming Hearing for Human Rights Lawyer Claudia González Orellana on January 15, 2024

Guatemala

Claudia González Orellana, human rights lawyer from Guatemala and recipient of the Lawyers for Lawyers Award 2023, faces a pivotal hearing on January 15, 2024.

Ms. González was detained on August 28, 2023, due to her work as a former representative of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an international body established through a collaboration between the United Nations and the Guatemalan government. Ms. González worked in multiple anti-corruption cases and dedicated herself to the defense of lawyers who were former prosecutors of the Public Ministry and other human rights defenders who were being criminalized. 

The legal proceedings following her detention have encountered several irregularities, raising serious questions about the integrity of the legal process to which she is being subjected. The charges against Ms. González for abuse of authority are generally reserved for public officials, which is not a function she held as she was not employed by the Guatemalan government service. Her initial hearing did not meet the Guatemalan legal requirement to be held within 24 hours of arrest and proceeded without the Public Prosecutor’s presence. Subsequent hearings were unexpectedly conducted behind closed doors.

Following an 82-day detention that we believe to be arbitrary, Ms. González was placed under house arrest. The forthcoming hearing on January 15 will be critical in determining whether the trial will proceed or the charges will be dismissed.

We stand in solidarity with Ms. González and call for a transparent hearing that upholds her right to due process and a fair trial, in line with international legal standards.