Guatemala: Information on the penalties for desertion from the military

The information that follows was provided in a 28 November 1995 telephone interview with the office of the Military Attaché at the Embassy of Guatemala in Washington, DC. It adds to the information provided in Responses to Information Requests GTM21776.E of 25 September 1995, GTM16109 of 23 December 1993 and GTM 11802 of 22 September 1992, and in the United States Deparmtent of State June 1994 report Guatemala - Profile of Asylum Claims & Country Conditions, all available through your Regional Documentation Centre.

In cases of desertion, a military tribunal evaluates the facts and determines what penalty, if any, can be applied. This would depend on the specific circumstances of each case. Not all cases of desertion warrant a prison sentence.

There is a wide range of aggravating and attenuating circumstances that could affect penalties. Aggravating circumstances include, for example, desertion with theft of military equipment, committing a crime while deserting, or deserting during a war or in the midst of battle. The source pointed out that the new Penal Procedures Code that went into effect in June 1994 submits to civilian courts all cases where military personnel (officers and soldiers alike) have committed a crime affecting civilians, regardless of any accessory or additional military crimes (such as desertion) that they may have committed.

The following provides an overview of what is considered desertion or attempted desertion among troops and non-commissioned officers (personal de tropa). Details on desertion by officers were not readily available to the source, although it was pointed out that such cases might generally receive a more serious penalty, as the individuals hold a position of greater responsibility.

Desertion occurs when:

a) a soldier has been absent for two consecutive roll calls in times of peace;

b) a soldier who has not been absent for two consecutive roll calls is found to be jailed four leagues (leguas) or further from his place of service;

c) a soldier exceeds his leave of absence for more than eight days.

Attempted desertion occurs when:

a) a soldier who has not been absent for two consecutive roll calls is found outside, but within four leagues of, the populated centre where he was assigned or based;

b) when a soldier is found within the populated centre wearing civilian clothes or any disguise;

c) when a soldier is caught on board a vessel that is about to set sail;

d) when a soldier has not been granted leave or permission to be absent and does not join his unit when marching orders are given.

When a prison term is imposed, the penalty will be increased by one fourth if the prisoner commits an offence, violates prison or detention rules, misbehaves or commits a serious breach of discipline during the second half of the original prison term. This extension of the prison term is in addition to any other terms or penalties applied for the new faults. All imprisoned individuals who behave well for three quarters of their prison term will be set free.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Office of the Military Attaché, Embassy of Guatemala, Washington, DC. 28 November 1995. Telephone interview with representative.

Additional Sources Consulted

              Amnesty International Report. Yearly.

      Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. Fortnightly.

      Central America Report [Guatemala]. Weekly.

      Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

      Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Yearly. New York: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.

      Guatemala Human Rights Bulletin [Washington, DC]. Quarterly.

      Guatemala Human Rights Update [Washington, DC]. Weekly.

      Human Rights Watch World Report. Yearly. New York: Human Rights Watch.

      News from Human Rights Watch/Americas [New York]. Monthly.

      Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.

      Latin American Weekly Report [London]. Weekly.

      Latin American Regional Reports: Central America & the Caribbean [London]. Monthly.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to the appropriate region.

Comisión para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Centro América (CODEHUCA), San José.

Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, Washington, DC.

IRB, USINS and UNHCR databases.

On-line searches of news articles.

Note on oral sources:

     Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read " no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.

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