Guatemala Congress to review presidential immunity over graft scandals

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Guatemala’s Supreme Court yesterday said Congress would decide whether to strip President Otto Perez of his immunity from prosecution to face investigation over corruption scandals that have battered his government.

The Supreme Court accepted opposition lawmaker Amilcar Pop’s motion to remove Perez’s immunity, passing it to Congress to examine if there were grounds for doing so.

If granted, the petition would be unprecedented in the modern history of the Central American nation. Perez’s right-wing Patriot Party does not have a majority in Congress.

Demonstrators have staged marches in Guatemala City calling for Perez to resign over the corruption allegations, which have rocked his cabinet in the last six weeks. The silver-haired Perez himself has not been accused of any wrongdoing.