Rios Montt genocide plaintiffs seek international help after Guatemala court delays trial to 2015

[Judi Lynn]

Rios Montt genocide plaintiffs seek international help after Guatemala court delays trial to 2015
By Benjamin Reeves
McClatchy Foreign Staff November 7, 2013

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.

The petition, which was filed Wednesday, was in response to an order by one of Guatemala’s highest courts requiring a lower court to consider amnesty for former President Efraim Rios Montt, whose forces conducted a bloody campaign against Guatemalan indigenous groups in the early 1980s.

“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.

More:
http://www.adn.com/2013/11/07/3163358/rios-montt-genocide-plaintiffs.html#storylink=cpy

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