Torture of the Innocent. Pretrial Detention in Guatemala from a Human Rights Perspective

Abstract

Kafka's novel Trial tells the story of Josef K after being arrested and prosecuted without knowing the reason. This book details the torture experienced by the character to get his freedom. The reality of pretrial detention in Guatemala is not far from the vision of the Czech writer. By the year 2022, 48.3% of prison inmates were pretrial prisoners, that means, innocent people. On this matter, the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala and the new Criminal Procedure Code established limits to the state on the use of pretrial detention, principally the respect of human rights. Additionally, the international treaties of human rights and judgments of its organs contributed to providing greater protection tools to the person. However, during all this time, the legal reforms that were carried out were far from the standards, exacerbating the crisis. For this reason, it is necessary to study the way in which pretrial detention is currently used in Guatemala. This with the objective of identifying if its use implies human rights violations, and to determine the existing good practices, as alternatives to address this problem.

Key words: Pretrial detention, human rights, personal liberty.