Rios Montt genocide plaintiffs seek international help after Guatemala court delays trial to 2015
Rios Montt genocide plaintiffs seek international help after Guatemala court delays trial to 2015
Published: November 7, 2013
By Benjamin Reeves — McClatchy Foreign Staff
GUATEMALA CITY — Representatives of Guatemala’s indigenous Ixil Maya have filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights in Washington accusing the Guatemalan government of failing in its legal obligation to investigate and prosecute genocide.
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“We presented a petition . . . because we want Guatemala to be held accountable for the crimes committed against the Ixil people,” said Marcia Aguiluz of the Center for Justice and International Law. “We want the Inter-American system to give a judgment that Guatemala must investigate and judge these people.”
Prosecuting Rios Montt for what took place during his rule has been a challenge from the beginning. The lead Guatemalan prosecutor on the case, Edgar Perez, has received multiple death threats. Since August 2010 he has traveled with nearly constant protection provided by the human rights group Peace Brigades International, which said it has thwarted a number of attempts on his life, including an attempt to tamper with the brakes on his car.
Rios Montt, 87, was convicted in May of genocide against the Ixil people. Over a two-year period in the early 1980s, as many as 95 percent of Ixil villages were razed and several thousand people, roughly 5.5 percent of the Ixil population, were killed.
More:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/11/07/207864/rios-montt-genocide-plaintiffs.html#storylink=cpy