Attorney General Thelma Aldana told Canal Antigua television late Wednesday that Judge Miquel Angel Galvez granted her request for
the order. The president will have to appear before the judge on crimes of illicit association, fraud and receiving bribe money in a widespread customs fraud ring in which the vice president has already been jailed and faces charges.
Perez Molina's attorney, Cesar Calderon, told The Associated Press that the president will appear voluntarily and declare before the judge as soon as they have confirmed the order was issued.
MOISES CASTILLO/AP
Demonstrators wave Guatemalan flags as they celebrate that Congress voted to withdraw President Otto Perez Molina's immunity from prosecution, in Guatemala City on Tuesday.

He won't be arrested because he is cooperating with the process.
Galvez will decide the next step based on the president's testimony, which could include stripping him of his position, jailing him or maintaining his job and freedom during the judicial process.
LUIS SOTO/AP
Guatemala's Attorney General Thelma Aldana gives a press conference regarding the decision of Congress to strip President Otto Perez Molina of his immunity Tuesday.
Perez Molina, 64, has maintained his innocence and vows to face the legal process. No formal charges have been filed.
He is under an order not to leave the country, and on Tuesday congress lifted his immunity from prosecution in what is widely seen as an unprecedented blow against entrenched corruption and impunity in this Central American nation. Each step in the process is a first, as no sitting president in Guatemala has been prosecuted for a crime, though some have faced corruption charges after leaving office.
ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
People demonstrate in demand of Guatemalan President Otto Perez's resignation over a corruption scandal, outside the National Palace in Guatemala City.
The corruption scandal, uncovered by prosecutors and a U.N. commission probing criminal networks in Guatemala, involved a scheme known as "La Linea," or "The Line," in which businesspeople paid bribes to avoid import duties through the customs agency. The ring is believed to have defrauded the state of millions of dollars.
The scandal has already claimed the job of former Vice President Roxana Baldetti, whose ex-personal secretary was named as the alleged ringleader. Baldetti resigned May 8 and is currently in jail awaiting trial on accusations she took millions of dollars in bribes.
ESTEBAN BIBA/EPA
Citizens celebrate after the announcement of the loss of immunity of Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, outside the National Palace in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Protesters fill the streets almost daily over the scandal, demanding not only that Perez Molina step down but that next Sunday's presidential elections be postponed. He says delaying the vote would be against the law.
Perez Molina is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, and whoever becomes his successor would take office in January.
RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Martin Ramon Guzman, General Secretary of the Constitutional Court (CC), the highest court of Guatemala, speaks during a press conference in Guatemala City on September 2, 2015. Guatemala's Congress voted Tuesday to strip embattled President Otto Perez of his immunity, clearing the way for him to be prosecuted for allegedly masterminding a multi-million-dollar corruption scheme. AFP PHOTO / Rodrigo ARANGUARODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images
Those voting against Perez Molina in Congress included members of his own ruling party.
No comments:
Post a Comment