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Guatemala court: former dictator can be tried for genocide – but not sentenced Guatemala court: former dictator can be tried for genocide – but not sentenced
(35 minutes later)
A Guatemalan court has said former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt can stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity – but cannot be sentenced because the 89-year-old suffers from dementia.A Guatemalan court has said former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt can stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity – but cannot be sentenced because the 89-year-old suffers from dementia.
Related: Guatemalan ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt mentally unfit for genocide retrialRelated: Guatemalan ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt mentally unfit for genocide retrial
The court ruling announced on Tuesday says the law allows for a special trial where all evidence and witnesses will be presented behind closed doors with a representative of Ríos Montt. He can be found guilty or not guilty, but will not receive a sentence because of his health conditions.The court ruling announced on Tuesday says the law allows for a special trial where all evidence and witnesses will be presented behind closed doors with a representative of Ríos Montt. He can be found guilty or not guilty, but will not receive a sentence because of his health conditions.
His lawyers have the option to appeal against the ruling.His lawyers have the option to appeal against the ruling.
In July, Guatemala’s forensic authority declared the ex-dictator as mentally unfit. Due to cognitive deterioration the 89-year-old would not be able to defend himself against charges that he was responsible for the killings of nearly 2,000 indigenous Maya during a particularly brutal stretch of the country’s 36-year civil war, the National Forensic Science Institute determined. In July, Guatemala’s forensic authority declared the ex-dictator as mentally unfit. Due to cognitive deterioration, the 89-year-old would not be able to defend himself against charges that he was responsible for the killings of nearly 2,000 indigenous Maya during a particularly brutal stretch of the country’s 36-year civil war, the National Forensic Science Institute determined.
Ríos Montt was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 80 years for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during his dictatorship in 1982 and 1983 at the height of Guatemala’s brutal civil war. The sentence was later thrown out on a technicality.Ríos Montt was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 80 years for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during his dictatorship in 1982 and 1983 at the height of Guatemala’s brutal civil war. The sentence was later thrown out on a technicality.
Ríos Montt’s opponents accuse him of implementing a scorched-earth policy, and his earlier conviction had been hailed as a landmark for justice in the Central American nation.Ríos Montt’s opponents accuse him of implementing a scorched-earth policy, and his earlier conviction had been hailed as a landmark for justice in the Central American nation.
The conflict claimed as many as 250,000 lives.The conflict claimed as many as 250,000 lives.