On January 6, 2016, the Public Ministry (Attorney’s General Office) filed a lawsuit (antejuicio) before the Supreme Court of Justice of Guatemala seeking to remove Edgar Justino Ovalle Maldonado’s parliamentary immunity. Ovalle Maldonado is personally close to president Jimmy Morales, and has been a member of Congress since January 14, 2016. The Public Ministry based its case on evidence that Ovalle Maldonado, as a Major in the Guatemalan Army during the armed conflict, participated in arbitrary detentions and extrajudicial executions, which are crimes against humanity, in relation to the clandestine graves discovered at the military base of the Regional Command for Peace Operations Training (CREOMPAZ, for its Spanish name).

The Supreme Court rejected the Public Ministry’s request on January 27, 2016. Due to this unfavorable ruling, the Public Ministry filed a petition for a constitutional remedy (amparo) before the Constitutional Court. It is in this context that DPLF, the International Platform against Impunity, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and the Guatemala Human Rights Commission have presented an amicus brief with arguments related to the strict limits international law places on immunity for public officials in relation to guaranteeing access to justice for grave human rights violations or international crimes.