Erika Lorena Aifán (born 1975) is a former

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

n judge. On

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in 2021, she was awarded an award from the US Secretary of State.

Career

Aifán works with a very small staff of three and only one of those is permanent. In about 2016, she became a "high risk D" judge. During her time as a judge over 75 complaints were filed against her. She dealt with nine businesspeople who were involved with giving bribes to disgraced minister . She ordered that they pay compensation and that they gave public apologies. She was one of three judges, together with and Yassmín Barrios Aguilar, who have received support from the

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. That court has ordered that these three should be given special protection. While she was dealing with the case against the politician Gustavo Alejos she received reports that two of her staff had been tampering with evidence. She backed her staff and when the case went to the Supreme court then her staff were not punished but promoted. Aifán has won disputes like this but she has had to hire lawyers at her own expense to counter the dubious charges. On March 21, 2022 Aifán resigned her position and fled the country for fear that corrupt government officials were about to have her arrested.

Awards and recognitions

in 2021 she was given the

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

from the US Secretary of State. The ceremony was virtual due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and it included an address by

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, Dr. Jill Biden. After the award ceremony all of the fourteen awardees would be able to take part in a virtual exchange as part an

International Visitor Leadership Program The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is a professional exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The mission of IVLP is to offer current and emerging international leader ...

. Unusually another seven women were included in the awards who had died in Afghanistan. Aifán's citation noted particularly her attacks on corruption, improving both transparency and the independence of the Guatemalan justice system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aifan, Erika 1975 births Living people Guatemalan women judges Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award 21st-century Guatemalan judges 21st-century women judges