Trial Date Set for the Murder of Dutch Journalists During El Salvador War
The trial for the murder of four Dutch journalists during the Salvadoran civil war will begin on April 23, 2025. Two former military officials are currently hospitalized, while the third, living in the United States, faces extradition. This hearing is crucial as it concludes a lengthy pursuit of justice initiated in 2018, building upon earlier findings of a premeditated ambush.
The trial concerning the murder of four Dutch journalists in El Salvador during the civil war has entered its final phase, set to begin on April 23, 2025. This information was disclosed by two NGOs involved in the case. The journalists—Jan Cornelius Kuiper Joop, Koos Jacobus Andries Koster, Hans Lodewijk ter Laag, and Johannes Jan Willemsen—were killed in a military ambush on March 17, 1982, in Chalatenango while filming a documentary about the conflict.
The phase of this trial is viewed as “historic” and is anticipated to last approximately one week. The Salvadoran Association for Human Rights and the Comunicándonos Foundation, which supports the victims’ relatives, reported that this decisive hearing will assess evidence and issue a ruling. Two defendants remain hospitalized: 91-year-old General José Guillermo García and 93-year-old Colonel Francisco Antonio Morán.
Moreover, the third defendant, Mario Reyes Mena, an 85-year-old former commander, resides in the United States, with his extradition recently approved by the Salvadoran Supreme Court. Lawyer Pedro Cruz, representing the victims’ families, emphasized the stakes of this final hearing which concludes a process initiated in 2018.
The Court of First Instance of Dulce Nombre de María will oversee the hearing, located 78 kilometers from San Salvador. The accused military personnel, all retired, were the focus of a Truth Commission report in 1993 that determined the journalists’ deaths were the result of a premeditated ambush orchestrated by Colonel Reyes, with the complicity of other officers.
The upcoming trial for the murder of Dutch journalists during the Salvadoran civil war represents a significant moment in the pursuit of justice. The proceedings, beginning April 23, 2025, involve key figures from the military hierarchy accused of orchestrating a deadly ambush. This final hearing serves to address decades of unresolved accountability, highlighting the implications of past conflicts on present justice.
Original Source: ticotimes.net
