Sperisen has always denied the murder charges
Keystone
Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala’s police, plans to seek more than CHF1 million ($1.02 million) in damages from the Genevan authorities, according to his lawyers. Sperisen faces a re-trial in Switzerland on murder charges later this month.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch/mga
The Swiss-Guatemalan dual citizen was jailed for life in 2014 for involvement in the deaths of ten prison inmates in Guatemala between 2005-2006. But earlier this year judges ordered a retrial because his defence was compromised by irregularities in the original hearing.
“We will be seeking damages of more than a million francs from canton Geneva,” one of his lawyers told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. He called the original trial “one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in the annals of Switzerland”.
Sperisen had moved to Switzerland after resigning from the police force in 2007. Nicknamed The Viking for his red hair, he inherited his Swiss citizenship from his father. He was tried in Geneva for alleged crimes committed in Guatemala as Switzerland does not extradite its citizens.
He is said to have twice ordered the killing of inmates during prison disturbances in Guatemala. A United Nations inquiry found that the killing of the seven prisoners in the so-called “Gavilán” operation in 2006 were not the result of clashes between prisoners and police, but rather planned extrajudicial murders.
Sperisen has been released from prison but remains in Switzerland under house arrest until the conclusion of his re-trial.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Former police chief released ahead of retrial
This content was published on
Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala’s national police, is to be freed from prison in Switzerland ahead of his November trial.
Former police chief’s murder appeal partially upheld
This content was published on
Erwin Sperisen, the former head of Guatemala’s national police, will be retried in Switzerland for his involvement in the killing of ten prisoners.
Former Guatemala police chief Sperisen has life sentence upheld
This content was published on
The crimes for which he had been on trial occurred between 2005-2006. Sperisen was found guilty in this latest court session of ordering the execution of three prisoners who attempted to escape from a prison centre in November and December 2005. He was accused of asking his subordinates to make it seem as though detainees…
Former police chief, Sperisen, appeals guilty verdict
This content was published on
Sperisen was handed a life sentence by the court at the beginning of June. In a statement released on Wednesday, his lawyers described the verdict as “arbitrary” and said it violated the rights of the defence. They argued that a majority of the testimony upon which the verdict was based, was unreliable, as the witnesses…
Life sentence for Guatemalan police chief Sperisen
This content was published on
Sperisen, who has dual Swiss-Guatemalan citizenship, was on Friday sentenced to life for his crimes. According to the judges, because of his rank, Sperisen played a decisive role in the killings. In one case, he carried out one of the executions himself. Sperisen’s lawyers had been asking for his acquittal and have said they will appeal…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.