Guatemalan former cops get up to 60 year sentences in gay couple’s killings

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AFP) — A Guatemalan court has sentenced seven former police officers to up to 60 years in prison over the "extrajudicial execution" of a gay couple, killings denounced by human rights groups as a hate crime. Eldin Choc, 28, and Milton Santamaria, 45, were beaten, tortured and killed in April 2024 by officers making "homophobic remarks" during the incident at a police station in the town of San Andres Itzapa, prosecutor Marco Escobar told AFP. "It is something despicable," Judge Maria Castellanos said during the sentencing hearing. The police chief at the time, Edy Vasquez, was sentenced Wednesday to 60 years in prison. Another former officer also received a 60-year sentence, while a third was given 30 years for committing "extrajudicial execution." Two female former police officers were sentenced to 11 years for dereliction of duty and discrimination for directing "homophobic remarks" at the couple, according to the ruling. The other two defendants were sentenced to eight and 10 years in prison for charges including unlawful detention, abuse of authority, obstruction of justice and dereliction of duty. Choc, who was Guatemalan, and Santamaria, who was Salvadoran-Canadian, had reportedly been arrested over an altercation in a shop. The police reported the couple as having died in a traffic accident. Santamaria's body was taken to a hospital, while Choc's remains were found days later in a ravine with one hand mutilated. Two firefighters have previously been sentenced to one and three years in prison after confessing, under pressure from police, that they helped cover up Santamaria being dead by the time they took him to the hospital. "This case adds to the many other hate crimes against LGBTIQ+ people in Guatemala," Amnesty International and other rights groups said in a joint statement. Henry Choc, Eldin's brother, told reporters he felt "satisfied" with the outcome, adding that "justice has been served." "It was important that this did not go unpunished," Abraham Abrego, legal director of the organisation Cristosal and a plaintiff in the case, told AFP. "This is clearly a crime motivated by prejudice," he added. Several activists gathered outside the courthouse holding banners with the slogan: "Homophobia kills." There were around 30 violent deaths of LGBTQ people in Guatemala last year, according to the Lambda Association, a Guatemalan human rights group. Hate crime is not defined under Guatemalan law.