Salvador guardsman freed in murdered nuns case
By Alberto Barrera
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Reuters) - A former El Salvador guard condemned for the rape and murder of three U.S. nuns has been freed after 17 years in jail, court officials said.
Two other guards convicted in the same case should be released in the next two days, they added.
They were convicted of abducting, raping and murdering American nuns Maura Clarke, Ita Ford and Dorothy Kazel, who were killed along with lay worker Jean Donovan on Dec. 2, 1980. The nuns belonged to the Maryknoll order.
Judge Gloria Platero ordered the men freed on parole after a group of U.S. lawyers said they acted on orders from above in the crime which occurred near the start of El Salvador's brutal civil war. Two other men were also convicted in the case but were not granted parole.
Former agent Daniel Canales was the first of the men granted liberty. He left Quezaltepeque prison some 12 miles north of San Salvador on Tuesday evening after a court official delivered the release order.
He said only that he was "satisfied" at regaining his liberty.
Former agent Jose Roberto Moreno, behind bars in the town of La Esperanza about four miles further north, will have to wait until later Wednesday morning for his release, prison officials said.
Former deputy sergeant Luis Antonio Colindres was expected to be freed early Wednesday from jail in San Vicente, 38 miles east of San Salvador.
Two other former national guards, Carlos Joaquin Contreras Palacios and Francisco Orlando Contreras, will remain in jail despite appeals by their lawyers, which were overturned.
They were ordered to serve full sentences after being convicted of subsequent crimes while in custody.
The rejection of their appeal cleared the way for Platero to issue the release orders on Tuesday. All five men had to stay behind bars until judges ruled on the appeal.
The case received international attention in April when four of the five former guards told a group of New York lawyers they were following orders in committing the crimes.
Relatives of the victims, members of the Catholic church and other humanitarian organizations have appealed for the case to be reopened in order to find and punish the crime's intellectual authors.
But El Salvador authorities have rejected the request, saying that reopening the case was not possible under national law since the events occurred more than 10 years ago.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Reuters) - A former El Salvador guard condemned for the rape and murder of three U.S. nuns has been freed after 17 years in jail, court officials said.
Two other guards convicted in the same case should be released in the next two days, they added.
They were convicted of abducting, raping and murdering American nuns Maura Clarke, Ita Ford and Dorothy Kazel, who were killed along with lay worker Jean Donovan on Dec. 2, 1980. The nuns belonged to the Maryknoll order.
Judge Gloria Platero ordered the men freed on parole after a group of U.S. lawyers said they acted on orders from above in the crime which occurred near the start of El Salvador's brutal civil war. Two other men were also convicted in the case but were not granted parole.
Former agent Daniel Canales was the first of the men granted liberty. He left Quezaltepeque prison some 12 miles north of San Salvador on Tuesday evening after a court official delivered the release order.
He said only that he was "satisfied" at regaining his liberty.
Former agent Jose Roberto Moreno, behind bars in the town of La Esperanza about four miles further north, will have to wait until later Wednesday morning for his release, prison officials said.
Former deputy sergeant Luis Antonio Colindres was expected to be freed early Wednesday from jail in San Vicente, 38 miles east of San Salvador.
Two other former national guards, Carlos Joaquin Contreras Palacios and Francisco Orlando Contreras, will remain in jail despite appeals by their lawyers, which were overturned.
They were ordered to serve full sentences after being convicted of subsequent crimes while in custody.
The rejection of their appeal cleared the way for Platero to issue the release orders on Tuesday. All five men had to stay behind bars until judges ruled on the appeal.
The case received international attention in April when four of the five former guards told a group of New York lawyers they were following orders in committing the crimes.
Relatives of the victims, members of the Catholic church and other humanitarian organizations have appealed for the case to be reopened in order to find and punish the crime's intellectual authors.
But El Salvador authorities have rejected the request, saying that reopening the case was not possible under national law since the events occurred more than 10 years ago.
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