Guatemalan war crimes suspect appeal deemed 'hopeless'
Tamil Guardian 10 August 2012
A Canadian court has rejected an appeal from a Guatemalan accused of war crimes who is fighting an extradition order to the United States for immigration offenses.
Jorge Vinico Orantes Sosa is accused of lying to immigration authorities in the US over his time spent in the counter-insurgency force of the Guatemalan military in 1982. He also stands accused of massacring the village of Dos Erres in 1982, whilst leading a military patrol.
"Mr. Sosa is not facing extradition to Guatemala to face murder charges. The extradition is to the United States where the U.S. authorities allege that Mr. Sosa lied to them when he answered 'no' to the question whether he had committed any crimes for which he had not been arrested."
"I have carefully reviewed the extradition judge’s decision, and it is my view that Mr. Sosa’s appeal is hopeless. Nor is there any injustice in requiring him to answer the perjury charges in the United States."
However, the Canadian Centre for International Justice Sosa in Canada called on the government to prosecute Sosa for war crimes and crimes against humanity, with Matt Eisenbrandt, the centre's legal director stating,
"It looks like the court agrees there is evidence on the record about Sosa being involved in the massacre, and it's certainly good that he's in front of a court, but it's disappointing that the charges he's going to face are much weaker charges than what he actually should face".
"The disappointment is that Canada to this point hasn't shown any interest in prosecuting Sosa in Canada on charges that would actually fit the crimes he's accused of."
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