Five people are on trial for the death of missionary Serge Berten
Serge Berten had left for Guatemala with two other missionaries. In the early 1980s, a bloody civil war raged in the Central American country, with the dictatorial regime trying to wipe out guerrilla and resistance movements. The missionaries sided with the local population and were eliminated in the 1980s respectively.
Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs
The families of the three tried for years in Guatemala to get answers about their deaths, but were unsuccessful and eventually lodged a complaint with the Belgian court in 2001. Four investigating judges succeeded each other in the case, and in 2006 Belgian investigators went to Guatemala. Several more requests for legal assistance followed, but the file was finally completed in the spring of 2022.
According to the federal prosecutor’s office, the people who killed the three missionaries could never be identified, but eight more senior officials were identified. Of those eight, three have already died, so that only five people are still being prosecuted. These include the then ministers of Justice and the Interior, and the then regional chief of police and his deputy.
“Find out exact circumstances”
The council chamber has now decided that the five must stand trial before the assize court, and has issued arrest warrants against them. “As a result, if they are arrested abroad, they can be extradited to Belgium”, the relatives report.
The families of the victims initially want to obtain more information about the precise circumstances in which the crimes took place. They also want the perpetrators to be held accountable, in particular to be prosecuted and convicted of the offences.
Finally, the family members also wish to show their solidarity with the many Guatemalan victims who fell during the civil war and in the period afterwards. “By bringing out the truth and holding the perpetrators to account, we can endorse the commitment of our murdered relatives and make their work for the Guatemalan people further meaningful,” said Stefaan Berten, brother of the disappeared Serge Berten.