In a landmark decision that promises to remake Guatemala's war-torn political landscape, a court has convicted three military officers and a priest for the murder of a Roman Catholic bishop.

The court also ordered government prosecutors to investigate others who may have been involved in the killing.

On June 8, retired Colonel Disrael Lima Estrada, Captain Byron Lima Oliva, and Sergeant Jose Villanueva each received 30-year sentences for murdering Juan Gerardi, auxiliary bishop of Guatemala City. The prelate, a champion of human rights, was beaten to death in April 1998, just two days after releasing a report blaming the military for most of the abuses committed during the country's 36-year civil war, during which 200,000 people died.

Father Mario Orantes, a priest who shared a residence with Gerardi, received a 20-year sentence for complicity in the murder.

The bishop's housekeeper, Margarita Lopez, was acquitted of a charge that she helped destroy evidence of the killing.

"All of Guatemala is happy because of this significant step towards eliminating impunity," the Bishop of El Quiche, Julio Cabrera, said. "And achieving justice in this case gives us hope that we can get justice for crimes committed against ordinary people. We only received justice in this case because the victim was a bishop. Now we need justice in the cases of the tens of thousands of victims who were poor."

The verdict was the result of a long and tortuous process. Since Gerardi's death three years ago, six witnesses, a prosecutor, and a judge linked to the case have fled the country in fear of their lives. There have been numerous threats against those seeking to bring the case to trial. A judge's home was bombed the night before the trial opened in March.

During the 46-day trial, the three-judge panel heard more than 100 witnesses, listened as 80 documents were read, and watched 60 hours of videos made during the investigation of the case. The judges also left the courtroom to examine the crime scene and a jail where Villanueva claimed he was incarcerated on the night of the murder.

Although the judges recognized that no one had proved who physically killed the bishop, they declared that the three military officers were "co-authors" of the crime, involved in planning and carrying out the murder, as well as altering the crime scene afterwards.

The three military officers were convicted of "extrajudicial execution," which implies that the three acted as agents of the state in committing the crime. The verdict implies that the bishop's murder was a political crime, carried out by the nation's military which had long been threatened by Gerardi's pastoral concern for truth-telling and justice.

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The judges denied a request by the prosecutor to convict Orantes of the same offence, and instead declared him guilty of a lesser charge. They ruled that the priest "contributed to the planning and, in failing to denounce the deed, permitted the alteration of the crime scene, which converted him into an accomplice."

Among the witnesses singled out by the judges was Ruben Chanax, who had been paid US$40 a week by Lima Estrada to spy on Gerardi. Chanax returned from Mexico, where he is living under a witness protection program, to testify that he had helped Lima Oliva and Villanueva move the bishop's body and clean blood off the floor leading into the parish residence.

After the verdict, Guatemala's President Alfonso Portillo acknowledged that the case had become "a national shame." He declared: "Today, for the first time in our history, law and justice have been applied to a political crime."

Human rights organizations also praised the verdict. "The trial's outcome marks the end of an era in Guatemala," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch. "For the first time, a Guatemalan court has ruled that army officers cannot get away with murder."

Attorneys for the four convicted men said they would appeal against the verdict. Julio Echeverria, Lima Oliva's attorney, blamed "international pressure" for the court's decision. "It's not normal that so many ambassadors show up in a courtroom," he said. "Their presence had a message."

Among the diplomats who showed up in the courtroom was U.S. Ambassador Prudence Bushnell. Determined to show her personal support for the judicial process, Bushnell ignored orders from the State Department in Washington that only a lower-level embassy official should appear at the trial, sources in Guatemala and Washington said.

Guatemala's Attorney General Adolfo Gonzalez said there was "little chance" that the court's decision could be overturned on appeal. "What was demonstrated is that everyone is equally subject to the laws of the country, without any exceptions," Gonzalez said. "It's no longer taboo to bring military officers to court."

International observers, who have watched the trial closely, said they would continue to follow the appeal process, which could take up to two years. "It's more crucial than ever to demand that the government of Guatemala guarantee the lives of the judges, prosecutors, attorneys and witnesses in this case as well as the lives of all those committed to seeking justice for the Guatemalan people," said Barbara Bocek, a Guatemala specialist with Amnesty International.

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As well as handing down their ruling on the fate of the five on trial, the judges ordered prosecutors to investigate 13 others linked to the murder or the attempted cover-up. The list includes seven military officials, four penitentiary guards and two civilians.

While the judges' decision made it clear that the military officers' involvement in the killing was motivated by revenge for Gerardi's criticism in the past and in order to prevent him supporting legal action against officials in the future, they did not touch on the motives for Orantes' involvement.

The priest's conviction has left church leaders unclear of how to proceed. According to Cabrera, "It's logical that there will be sanctions against a priest convicted of killing someone, even more so if the victim was a bishop."

Cabrera said Orantes' involvement in the case had caused "deep pain" to the church in Guatemala. "They had worked together for many years, and Monsenor Gerardi had tried to help Orantes," Cabrera said. "It's still unimaginable to me that a priest could collaborate in the killing. I'm left with great questions about how this could have happened."

Related Elsewhere


The Los Angeles Times calls the verdict "a small, brave move toward bringing justice to Guatemala."

The case's judge has received death threats since the sentence, but says he won't leave the country.

The Roman Catholic Church plans to conduct a religious trial of Orantes, CNN reports.

Most news sources covered the case's verdict including: BBC News, ABC News, The Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Miami Herald.

The Independent reported on gernades thrown into the backyard of the original trial judge.

More coverage of the trial is available in Yahoo's full coverage area.

Christianity Today's earlier coverage of the Gerardi trial and related violence in Guatemala includes:

United Nations Asked to Protect Judges in Bishop's Murder Trial |Death threats and attacks common in case against military officers and priest. (June 1, 2001)

U.S. Investigators Asked to Help Solve Mystery of Nun's Death in Guatemala | What initially seemed to be auto theft gone wrong now has overtones of politics and persecution. (June 1, 2001)

Almost Three Years After Bishop's Death, Five Go on Trial | Threats of violence continue as military officials stand trial in Guatemala (Apr. 11, 2001)

Guatemala's New Government to Probe 'Loss' of File on Murdered Bishop | File empty, reports Christian news agency (Feb. 2, 2000)

Peace Accord Amnesty Divides Church Leaders (Feb. 3, 1997)