Sperisen challenges Switzerland over lengthy proceedings

Erwin Sperisen has faced four trials in Switzerland. Keystone-SDA

Former Guatemalan police chief Erwin Sperisen has once again challenged Switzerland before the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that the more than 14-year-long proceedings against him violate his right to a trial within a reasonable time.

Sperisen is appealing against his most recent conviction by Geneva courts in September 2024, which has been pending before Switzerland’s Federal Court for over 20 months, his lawyers said in a statement on Tuesday.

Two years ago, Geneva courts handed the 56-year-old a 14-year jail sentence for complicity in the murder of seven prisoners in a Guatemalan prison. According to the defence, this verdict “clearly constitutes an abuse of power”.

Sperisen’s lawyers highlight the fact that all his co-defendants in this case have been acquitted or had their cases dismissed by foreign courts. His former subordinate, Javier Figueroa, for example, was acquitted in Austria 13 years ago. However, the Geneva courts ruled in 2024 that he was guilty, making Sperisen the “accomplice of an acquitted person”, say his lawyers.

Complaints against judges

In June 2025, Sperisen filed a criminal complaint with the Office of the Attorney General of canton Geneva against several Geneva judges for abuse of authority and defamation. He accuses them of having “deliberately violated his presumption of innocence” and of ignoring the Federal Court’s instructions.

On the grounds of “manifest bias”, the defence has also requested the appointment of a special prosecutor from outside canton Geneva. Further criminal complaints have been lodged by former co-defendants – all of whom were acquitted – against members of the Geneva judiciary.

The Sperisen case had previously been heard on several occasions by national and international courts. “In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Switzerland for violating the right to a fair trial,” said a lawyer for the former Guatemalan police chief.

Sperisen holds dual Swiss and Guatemalan nationality. He sought refuge in Switzerland with his family in 2007. He was arrested in Geneva in 2012. Since then, he has been tried four times by the Geneva courts, which have convicted him on each occasion.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.