New trial against Erwin Sperisen begins in Geneva
Published: Monday, Sep 2nd 2024, 11:30
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Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala's national civil police, has been on trial in a Geneva court for the fourth time since Monday. The Swiss-Guatemalan dual citizen has been charged with accessory to murder.
"We will plead for acquittal and also for the proceedings to be dropped," Giorgio Campa and Florian Baier, Sperisen's two lawyers, told the Geneva court.
The defendant is accused by the public prosecutor's office of agreeing to the shooting of seven prisoners by a hit squad when Guatemala regained control of the Pavon prison in 2006. The prison had fallen under the control of drug traffickers.
The case has dragged on for more than twelve years due to appeals and was pursued all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The latter ruled that Sperisen had not received a fair trial. Sperisen, now 54, fled to Switzerland in 2007. He was arrested in Geneva in 2012.
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