Two stood in trial for alleged sex slavery in Guatemala; Both defendants plead not guilty

Trial has begun for Sepur Zarco case where a retired soldier and a former paramilitary appeared in court for the alleged murder, disappearance, slavery, and rape of at  least 15 women. Both defendants asserted that they are not guilty of such crimes.

As reported by Buenos Aires Herald, Esteelmer Francisco Reyes Girón and  Heriberto Valdez Asij appeared in the Court for High Risk Cases for enslaving and sexually assaulting women during the armed conflict in Guatemala. Reyes Girón was accused of crimes against humanity, consisting of sexual violence, injury to personal dignity and murder, while Asij  was tried for crimes against humanity of sexual violence and forced disappearance.

The case stated that the abuse towards women occurred in 1982 and 1983 where at least 15 women were kept at the Sepur Zarco military camp. According to The Guardian, the military forces first seized and killed the men Sepur Zarco and later took the women who they raped in front of their children, and destroyed or took their property.

For every two to three days, women allegedly took "shifts" and "work" for the military where they were forced to cook, clean, and were sexually assaulted by the military men. The slavery "shifting" ended after ten months, however, some remained tied up for several more years.

The litigation process has also become more difficult as the women are now in their 70s to 80s who are frail and cannot speak Spanish. The victims only speak Q'eqchi'. With such condition, the judge ordered a pre-trial in 2012 to have their testimonies on record.

According to BBC, 11 of the alleged victims appeared in the courtroom donned their Mayan indigenous dress with their heads and  faces covered. The other women in the court room covered their heads and faces as well in solidarity.

Both of the defendants insisted that they are innocent. The trial is expected to last for 40 days. The trial is the continuation of the trial that was supposed to take place in June 2014 which was postponed because of the defence. The case began in 2011 when witnesses came forward backed by advocacy groups.

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Sepur Zarco, Guatemala, sex slavery, Guatemala sex slavery case, Guatemala civil war, Sepur Zarco case, Sepur Zarco women

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