| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________EL SALVADOR___________________
No trial for former president
Accused in killing of Jesuits
A Salvadoran judge has ruled that a former president and six generals cannot be tried for the 1989 killing of six Jesuits because the statute of limitations has expired.
Justice Ana Rodriguez noted that the criminal cases must be prosecuted within 10 years under Salvadoran law. “Although it has been said that I was pressured (to rule a certain way), my decision adheres completely to the law,” Rodriguez said.
Former President Alfredo Cristiani and the six generals were accused of ordering the murders of the Jesuits, along with their housekeeper and her daughter, on November 16, 1989, allegedly because the priests were outspoken critics of the regime. Nine members of an elite army unit were tried in the case, but seven were acquitted and the two who were convicted were granted amnesty by Cristiani.
The Jesuit-run Central America University had filed the complaint against the president and generals, alleging they must have known about or ordered the killings. The university said it will appeal the ruling.
Back to Catholic World Report February 2001 Table of Contents