The three men were sentenced to thirty years in prison last month. This is former minister of Defense Guillermo Garcia, former director Francisco Antonio Morán of a special police service and former colonel Mario Reyes Mena, who is seen as the direct client of the murders in 1982.
When the verdict was pronounced, the judge stated that the decision is final and that it was therefore not possible to appeal. What is possible is to submit a request to declare the judgment void. The men do that now. In this way they hope to avoid the prison sentence.
Between 1980 and 1992, a civil war raged between a right -wing government and left -wing guerrilla groups in El Salvador. Jan Kuiper, with fellow journalists Koos Koster, Joop Willemsen and Hans ter Laag of the former Omroep Ikon in 1982 in the country for a television report. When they tried to get to Guerrilla area on March 17, they were awaited and shot by soldiers from the government army.
Jan Kuiper’s brother, Gert Kuiper, tried to bring the perpetrators to court for decades without success. Last month there was a statement. In addition to the three former soldiers, the state of El Salvador was also convicted for delaying the judgment. The State must publicly apologize to the relatives, the judge ruled. Earlier, the Public Prosecution Service of El Salvador announced that it is appealing.