And while Budna was abducted - the evidence shows - by the police - Sebastian Pop was abducted by Guatemalan villagers - who came over to Otoxha in a mob in February of 2023 - and took him across to face murder for a homicide.
His family cried out to the state for someone to help him - to have him returned home after abductIon. They went to police, Home Affairs And Foreign Affairs but say their cries fell on deaf ears. Such a case is primarily the duty of Foreign Affairs and we asked the Minister about it today:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"Yeah Sebastian Pop, As you know, was arrested, I think sometime in 2023 or taken in 2023. We're looking into that again. It's, in my view, a very tragic case. Mr. Pop is accused of very very serious crimes and, in fact, has been convicted of very serious crimes as Mr. Budna. We have to remember, in the case of Budna, Mr Budna is an escaped prisoner from Guatemala, who is serving, has gone to court and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. In the case of Mr. Pop, he has similarly been convicted on the basis of DNA evidence, of committing femicide. He, based on our understanding, was taken really by a mob, as we understand it. In I think either Dolores or Otosha village. The Alcade of that village I think fearing for his own safety our understanding is he handed him over to the to this this mob, really this mob who are saying that he had killed, raped and killed, their daughter. So we're following up on that again. The embassy in Guatemala is looking into the matter. We're looking at two things. One, whether we can appeal his case, that we believe there are certain grounds that we can look at, look at, in terms of an appeal and get him that support for that appeal. But we're also looking at the issue of repatriation. You know, there is a provision on the confidence building measures, that allows for that sort of exchange that has never been used before. Never been implemented. But we're looking into that issue. I've instructed our ambassador in Guatemala, to pursue that issue with the Guatemalan authorities. So we're looking at that issue, And at the same time, you know, trying to ensure as well, that Mr. Pops you know, is in good health and that his rights are being protected, while he is in prison, really serving a 30 year sentence."
