Rios Montt Genocide Trial in Disarray in Guatemala
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt enters the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City April 19, 2013. The genocide trial of Rios Montt was mired in uncertainty on Friday as judges squabbled over who should hear the case following an order to annul nearly a year-and-a-half of proceedings. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez (GUATEMALA – Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) – RTXYSMB
The genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was thrown into disarray when one of the presiding judges, Patricia Flores, ruled that the trial should be annulled. But then, a day later, the other judges said that Flores’ annulment was itself illegal, and said they felt the trial should go ahead, leaving it to the country’s Constitutional Court to decide.
Rios Montt is facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity that allegedly occurred under his rule in 1982-83. The trial has already been ongoing for a year and a half.
We speak with Kate Doyle, who is with the Guatemala Documentation Project at the National Security Archive in Washington, DC.