Guatemala judge says those he's sentenced seeking revenge

A prominent Guatemalan judge faces the possibility of losing his immunity from legal action in a case that he claims is meant to intimidate independent judges in a country whose judicial system is seen as under attack

GUATEMALA CITY -- One of Guatemala’s most prominent judges faces the possibility of losing his immunity from legal action in a case that he claims is meant to intimidate the independent judges in a country whose judicial system is widely seen as under attack.

Guatemala’s Supreme Court on Wednesday was expected to receive an investigator's report on a 2019 traffic confrontation between Judge Pablo Xitumul and a police officer, both of whom accuse the other of abuse of authority.

The court could remove the immunity from prosecution granted to judges, opening Xitumul to legal action by people he has sentenced to prison — a group that includes numerous powerful figures, including former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and former Vice President Roxana Baldetti.

The Supreme Court often decides such cases on the day they are submitted.