Guatemala's ex-military leader genocide conviction overturned

PanARMENIAN.Net - Guatemala's former military leader Efrain Rios Montt has had his conviction for genocide and crimes against humanity overturned.

The constitutional court said the trial must go back to where it stood on 19 April to resolve appeals issues.

On May 10, Rios Montt was convicted of ordering the deaths of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group during his time in office in 1982-83.

The 86-year-old was sentenced to 80 years in prison. He denies the charges.

The constitutional court on Monday, May 20, threw out all proceedings in the case dating back to the middle of April - when there was a dispute between two judges about who should hear the case.

The ruling follows an appeal by Rios Montt's defense lawyers, who argued that procedural errors had been committed.

The trial - which began in March - was beset by delays and even a temporary suspension. During the hearings, dozens of victims gave harrowing testimony about atrocities committed by soldiers.

An estimated 200,000 people were killed in Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war, the vast majority of them indigenous Mayans.

Rios Montt's 17 months in power are believed to have been one of the most violent periods of the war. The former general abandoned politics in 2012, after serving in Congress for a number of years.