The two magistrates who form the opposition in the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) denounced acts of intimidation, and they request that the authorities provide information on the case to take the necessary measures.
Flor de María Gálvez and Estuardo Cárdenas form the minority group of the CSJ, which are usually the opposition of the larger bloc of the Judiciary, which is chaired by Judge Claudia Paredes.
Both appear in an investigation by the Public Ministry (MP) as aggrieved, that is, possible victims, according to an official letter that was leaked on social networks.
In that document, the Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime requests the Judicial Career Council (CCJ) for information on the inauguration of judges Gálvez, Cárdenas and 15 others from different Appeals chambers.
Sources who prefer not to be cited explained that these could be possible threats against justice officials, and that they would have been known to investigating agents.
The Department of Social Communication of the MP was consulted if to date there is an investigation into threats against magistrates of the CSJ, to which it responded: “The case began in June 2024, due to the alteration of personal data on different institutional platforms of several high-ranking public officials, threatening them in the month of November of that same year, which contained personal information of the victims, these being magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice, Appeals Chambers, from whom it was requested. information to the Council of the Judicial Career, among other public officials, who could also be victims of the computer alterations that gave rise to the investigation.”
He added that the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office continues to investigate the folder that contains four complaints, and that it is collecting evidence to strengthen the case “due to the possible commission of the crimes of obstruction of justice and destruction of computer records.”
For their part, judges Gálvez and Cárdenas confirmed acts of intimidation when consulted, agreeing that it is necessary that they be informed of the facts to take the necessary security measures.
Signals surveillance
Judge Gálvez assured that she knows of investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime through recent publications, where she comments on the apparent intervention of her cell phone and surveillance.
“I have learned that my phone has been tapped and I have been subject to surveillance that has intensified in recent days, reaching the point that unknown and deceived people entered the place where I was,” explained the magistrate.
Gálvez added: “They entered that place providing family information, so in conclusion, (the intimidation) has not been direct, but from all this it can be deduced that there has been some.”
The magistrate expressed concern because this type of surveillance has been more constant in recent days, “therefore I hope that some official authority contacts me due to these circumstances.”
Internal and external pressures
Judge Cárdenas explained that he has detected acts of intimidation against him, and said that an attempt has been made to violate his freedom of expression.
“Through the arbitrary instruction of the majority of the CSJ plenary session that legal counsel will analyze my statements given to Prensa Libre, to based on this promote actions against me,” he explained.
The magistrate added that this measure “attacks my freedom of expression and thought, and above all against the judicial independence that I hold, all of which, of course, whether one wants to accept it or not, carries that intention, restricting such prerogatives and weakening the fundamental guarantees that protect them.”
Regarding the information requirements where he appears as aggrieved, Cárdenas sees the situation as strange since, although he has detected external situations, until now, he has not filed a complaint.
“Accordingly, these are files started in 2024, so although it is understood as obvious that in the previous administration of the MP absolutely nothing was done in this regard, what is most worrying is that currently priority is given to requiring information about the positions, functions and inauguration, and to this date no official communication has yet been made to us in this regard,” he noted.
For Cárdenas, the main thing that the competent authorities should do is provide information so that the injured parties can take preventive measures that they consider necessary.
“The first thing is to inform those who could be the subject of the illicit acts investigated; and that for this the information required matters little, when what should be privileged is the safety and integrity of those affected and their families,” he concluded.
The current context of the CSJ is in the midst of tensions after an injunction promoted by Cárdenas and an interview that exposes what he assures are the practices of the current Judicial Branch.
In response, the majority group of the CSJ issued a statement, denying the magistrate’s statements that would be analyzed by the OJ’s own legal department.