BRIEFS: Justice

Poisoning victims to stage another protest

Members of the Comité de Defensa por la Salud y la Vida, people who were affected by the medicine distributed by the government that contained the poison diethylene glycol, announced yesterday that they will not only picket outside the Corte Suprema and the Presidencia de la República, but that they will be prepared to defend themselves.

Comité leader Gabriel Pascual made the announcement following the Criminal Court ruling dismissing assault charges against José Gómez and three other guards in the Servicio de Protección Institucional (SPI). The four SPI guards were accused of beating Comité members during a protest in front of the Palacio de Las Garzas on July 19, 2007.

Pascual described the ruling as shameful, adding that it was a reflection “of the corruption that exists in the Órgano Judicial.”

One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers promised to appeal the ruling. Public Criminal Prosecutor Haxilia Henriquez said that she’d not yet been notified of this decision.