On Monday the Constitutional Court of Guatemala threw out the conviction against General Efrain Rios Montt and all the proceedings in the case, for the time being. The general is the first former head of state that has been charged with genocide and convicted in court in his own country. General Montt’s lawyers filed an appeal so that the former Latin America dictator could be moved to a military hospital where he stays to this day. Gen. Montt spent just one day in prison.
An argument between the judges was raised a month ago regarding who was in authority to hear the trial. In effect the ruling of the Constitutional Court voided the guilty verdict that has been handed down on May 10 by Judge Jazmin Barrios. According to Amnesty International, for the victims of human rights violations in Guatemala, this is a “devastating blow.”
The ruling
The constitutional judges ruled 3-2. The ruling states that Gen. Montt’s historic trial has to be restarted and reset from where it was on April 19. That was the time when the hearing was suspended. From that time on, all the witness statements and testimonies presented in court need to be delivered once more, including the concluding statements from the prosecution and defense. All the statements delivered in court prior to April 19 are still admissible.
Martin Guzman, the secretary of the Constitutional Court stated that this is necessary in order to solve a number of appeal issues.
Convicted of genocide
General Rios Montt, the former military leader of Guatemala, was convicted last May 10 of ordering the killing of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group. The crimes against humanity were committed between 1982-1983 while General Montt was still in office. The dictator was convicted of ordering the killings of the indigenous peoples by the armed forces.
The hearings saw testimonies from victims on atrocities and violent crimes committed by the soldiers on the members of the indigenous peoples. The 17 months that General Rios Montt was in power is considered by many to be one of the most violent times during the Guatemalan Civil War.
Upturned verdict
The top court has annulled the convictions against the former dictator on crimes against humanity and genocide directed to the indigenous groups of Guatemala. He was already convicted to serve 80 years in jail on May 10. When the verdict was given relatives of victims and human rights advocates cried with joy and relief at the awarding of justice.
General Efrain Rios Montt, 86 years old, has denied all the accusations
What happened on April 19?
On April 19, when the trial was suspended, Gen. Montt’s lawyer was expelled from court and Gen. Montt was left with no legal defense. The lawyer accused the presiding judge of bias which led to his expulsion from the courtroom leaving the defendant without legal representation. This resulted in the case being set back for one month. The panel said that when Atty. Francisco Garcia was expelled, the trial should already have been discontinued.
At this time both sides are now preparing for a replay of the last few weeks of the trial and are waiting to return to the courtroom.
Photo Credit: Justice for Genocide in Guatemala
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