Guatemala: Further Information on Death Penalty: Proposed resumption of executions

Index Number: AMR 34/009/2008
Date Published: 18 March 2008
Categories: Guatemala

On 14 March 2008 Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom vetoed Decree 06-2008, known as the “Law regulating the commuting of sentence for those condemned to death”. The Decree has been sent back to Congress, which has up to 30 days to overturn the Presidential veto or to reconsider the bill. If two-thirds of the members of Congress vote to overturn the veto, the Decree will become law, meaning that there would be a danger that executions in Guatemala may resume.