Former Guatamalan police chief to remain in Champ-Dollon prison
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Erwin Sperisen, Guatamala’s former police chief who was jailed in Geneva 31 August will remain at Champ-Dollon prison for now, Geneva’s cantonal attorney-general said Tuesday 16 October. The office was informed by the criminal court of appeal that it had considered a challenge to the charges holding Sperisen in jail, by his lawyers, and ruled that the challenge was unfounded.
Sperisen, who is a dual national, was arrested on the basis of evidence supplied by Guatamala, where he has been accused of a number of crimes, including murder. He was head of the police until 2007, when he fled to Switzerland; he has been living in Geneva since then.
Trial, an NGO in Geneva that tracks a number of high-profile crimes, including war crimes, had been pushing for Sperisen’s arrest, and it has a lengthy profile of him and accusations against him.
