Guatemala judge convicts 6 ex-officials in deaths of 41 girls in 2017 fire

The fatal blaze rocked Guatemala and highlighted wide maltreatment successful the government’s structure system.

A Guatemalan tribunal has convicted six radical successful transportation with the deaths of 41 girls astatine a state-funded younker structure successful 2017.

On Tuesday, Judge Ingrid Cifuentes gave the erstwhile officials, who had each pleaded not guilty, sentences of betwixt six and 25 years for charges ranging from maltreatment of authorization to manslaughter.

Two of the radical convicted were ex-police officers, portion the different 4 were ex-child extortion officials.

Prosecutors had sought sentences of up to 131 years for immoderate of those connected trial.

The justice said she did not person the jurisdiction to marque a ruling against a seventh defendant, who utilized to beryllium the children’s authoritative astatine the lawyer general’s office.

As good arsenic handing down the situation terms, Cifuentes besides ordered an probe into erstwhile President Jimmy Morales, who was Guatemala’s person astatine the clip of the blaze.

Emily del Cid Linares, 25, a subsister of the occurrence who suffered burns, said she was satisfied with the verdict.

“I consciousness similar a value has been lifted from me,” she said. “What I astir consciousness is that they [the victims] volition beryllium capable to remainder successful peace. [Those responsible] are going to wage for what they did.”

The calamity astatine the Virgen de la Asuncion younker shelter, which is located 22km (14 miles) eastbound of the capital, Guatemala City, shook the state and went connected to item the wide maltreatment successful the government’s structure system.

The occurrence broke retired connected March 8, 2017, a twelvemonth aft the home, which housed hundreds much children than its ineligible capacity, was ordered to adjacent by a court.

The blaze started successful a schoolroom successful which 56 girls had been locked aft their effort to flight the structure the erstwhile day. After being brought backmost to the tract by the police, they were unopen successful a country with nary entree to a toilet.

Witnesses said that 1 of the girls acceptable occurrence to their foam mattresses to protestation against their attraction astatine the home, which is alleged to person included intersexual abuse.

Nineteen girls died connected March 8 from their injuries, with a further 22 aboriginal succumbing to their injuries. The occurrence besides severely injured 15 others.