A hearing will be held on August 12, 2025, in the case of Claudia González Orellana, a Guatemalan human rights lawyer and recipient of the 2023 Lawyers for Lawyers Award. Lawyers for Lawyers will monitor the hearing to ensure that Ms. González’s rights to due process, as established by law, are fully respected.
Ms. González has extensive experience in human rights advocacy. She served as a representative of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a joint initiative of the United Nations and the Guatemalan government to combat corruption and impunity. In that role, she intervened in several high-profile cases related to anti-corruption investigations. Later in her practice as a lawyer, she provided legal defense to former prosecutors and other human rights defenders persecuted for their participation in such efforts.
In August 2023, Ms. González was arrested and charged with “abuse of authority” regarding her work at the CICIG. After spending 82 days in detention, she has been under house arrest since November of that same year. The judicial process against her has been marked by numerous irregularities, thus raising concerns about its fairness and integrity. Hearings have been repeatedly postponed, exceeding the deadlines established by Guatemalan law. Furthermore, on several occasions, access to the media and the public has been unjustifiably restricted, raising further questions about transparency and the protection of her rights.
The hearing scheduled for today is a continuation of the one that began on June 5th of 2024, which has been suspended three times. Therefore, it is essential that the case is heard by an impartial tribunal that ensures full respect for both procedural and substantive rights.
Lawyers for Lawyers urges that the hearing be conducted transparently, fully respecting Ms. González’s rights to due process and a fair trial, in accordance with national and international law.
Guatemala: Upcoming hearing in the criminal case against Claudia González Orellana
