Three men given 30-year jail sentences for 1982 Dutch journalist killings in El Salvador

Three men who were found guilty of murdering four Dutch journalists in 1982 in El Salvador have been sentenced to 30 years in prison. The former high-ranking military officials were sentenced to up to 15 years in prison in June. In the written verdict, the court clarified that each sentence effectively amounts to 60 years, as there were four victims.

However, the perpetrators have to serve "just 30 years," as that was the maximum sentence allowed under the law at the time, according to the victims’ lawyer, Gustavo Huezo. This was reported by media outlets in the Central American country, such as La Prensa Gráfica.

Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Hans ter Laag, and Joop Willemsen were reporting on the bloody civil war in El Salvador for the now-defunct broadcaster IKON. They walked into a military ambush and were killed.

An amnesty law, which was later repealed, prevented prosecution for many years. Those convicted include a former defense minister (Guillermo Garcia), a former director of a police agency (Francisco Antonio Moran), and a former colonel (Mario Reyes Mena).

Hans ter Laag’s sister, Sonja ter Laag, was 25 years old during the murders. She said the higher sentence, in her view, shows that the murder case is still being taken very seriously. “I think that’s a good thing.”

She pointed out that the oldest convicts are 91 and 93 years old and are said to be in poor health. “In reality, it doesn’t matter whether they get two or 60 years. I don’t think they’ll live much longer. What matters to me is that they’ve been convicted and won’t go to their graves with their decorations.”