San Salvador
Reuters
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The ju judge in El Salvador sentenced three retired high-ranking officers to 15 years in prison in 1982 for the murder of four Dutch journalists.
The three were charged with the murders of journalists Koos Joster, Jan Kuiper Joop, Johannes Jan Wilemsen and Hans Ter Laag on Tuesday.
Eleven years later, the United Nations Truth Committee discovered that the ambush “deliberately planned to surprise and kill journalists.”
The trial has been closed and details regarding the defendant’s plea and debate have not been made public.
The Civil War in El Salvador was extended from 1980 to 1992, raising left-wing guerrillas in US-backed Salvadoran forces, killing 75,000 people and an additional 8,000 people missing.
Former Defence Minister Jose Guillermo Garcia was declared along with two colonels, a ju-secret from the town of northern Charatenango and two colonels: former chief of finance police Francisco Moran and former commander of the infantry brigade, Mario Reyes.
All three, ages 91, 93 and 85, were sentenced in absentia. Garcia and Moran are in a hospital in custody, and Reyes currently resides in the United States, while El Salvador is seeking his return.
“Truth and justice have won, we have won,” Oscar Perez, president of the Communicationsdonos Foundation, who represents the relatives, told reporters. “The victim is the focus now. It’s not the perpetrator.”
Prosecutors had requested a 15-year sentence, taking into account the age and health of military officers.
The ju judge also issued a civil denunciation to the Salvador state for delays in implementing justice. This is a symbolic measure that mandates commander Naive Bukere, the military commander, to publicly seek forgiveness from the victims’ families.
