Iris Yassmin Barrios Aguilar is a judge and the president of one of Guatemala’s two High Risk Court Tribunals. She was the presiding judge in the case of

Efraín Ríos Montt José Efraín Ríos Montt (; 16 June 1926 – 1 April 2018) was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as ''de facto'' President of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983. His brief tenure as chief executive was one of the blo ...

, a former dictator of Guatemala. In that trial Montt was found guilty of the genocide of indigenous Ixil Mayans; the verdict came in 2013. The trial was the first time a national judiciary tried a former head of state for genocide in his home country. However, on May 20, 2013, the

Constitutional Court of Guatemala The Constitutional Court of Guatemala is the highest court for constitutional law in the Republic of Guatemala. It is tasked with preserving the constitutional order by ruling on questions of the constitutionality of laws or state actions. The C ...

overturned the conviction, voiding all proceedings back to April 19 and ordering that the trial be "reset" to that point, pending a dispute over the recusal of judges. Officials have said that Ríos Montt's trial will resume in January 2015. Barrios received a 2014

International Women of Courage 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 ...

award. As of April 2014 her judicial authority was suspended for a year due to a complaint against her by a lawyer who was involved in the trial of the President and war criminal

. She was one of three judges, together with Gloria Porras and

Erika Aifan Erika may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)'' * Erika (''Friends'') * Erika (''Pokémon'') * Erika (''Underworld'') * Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)'' * ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film * Eri ...

, who have received support from the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. That court has ordered that these three should be given special protection. Aifan would also receive an

award in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrios Aguilar, Iris Yassmin Guatemalan women judges Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Guatemalan judges Women human rights activists Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award 21st-century women judges