Former Guatemalan Dictator Rios Montt Sentenced to 80 Years for Genocide

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Managing Editor, News

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — Rios Montt, the former Guatemalan dictator, was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity last Saturday for killing more than 1,700 Ixil Mayan Indians during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war.  He was sentenced to 80 years in prison.  Montt is the first Latin American ex-leader to be convicted of genocide, and the first former, or current leader in the world to be convicted of genocide in his own country.

Former Guatemalan dictator Ricardo Montt was sentenced to 80 years for Genocide when he commanded troops to kill more than 1,700 people of Ixil Mayan decent. (Photo Courtesy of the New York Times)

The 86-year old Montt held power in Guatemala from 1982-1983.  After overthrowing one leader during a coup, he was was overthrown immediately after.  During his year-long dictatorship, he commanded his troops to rape, torture, and murder thousands of Ixil Mayans when he implemented a scorched-earth policy against leftist rebels.  Troops massacred the indigenous population because they were thought to be assisting the rebels.  Over 200,000 people died during the course of the civil war.

After the civil war ended in 1996, Montt became a member of congress and was immune from prosecution.  Montt was indicted in January 2012 after losing his immunity when he finished his congressional term.  His attorneys tried to delay the trial in hopes that he would die before facing a court, however, attempts were futile when he and his former Chief of Military Intelligence, José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez, went before Guatemala’s Supreme Court on March 19, 2013.

In a courtroom packed with Ixil Mayan people, garbed in traditional clothing, Judge Yassmin Barrios told Montt that he was “fully aware of plans to exterminate the indigenous Ixl population.”  Montt denied the charge, and proclaimed his innocence, claiming he never had control of the battlefield.  Former U.S. President, Ronald Reagan was a supporter of Montt, believed that Mott was “a man of great personal integrity.”  President Reagan believed that the dictator received a “bum rap” from rights groups when Montt implemented a scorched-earth policy.

The courtroom erupted in cheers after Montt, who claimed he had “never authorized, signed, proposed, or ordered attacks on a racial, ethnic, or religious group,” received his sentence.  “I feel happy.  May no one else ever have to go through what I did.  My community has been sad ever since this happened,” said Elena de Paz, an Ixil Mayan whose parents were killed and home was burned by soldiers when she was only two years old.  Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu was also satisfied by the court’s decision.  “Today we are happy, because for many years it was said that genocide was a lie, but today the court said it was true,” she said.

Amnesty International hailed the verdict, and called Montt’s trial “the trial of the decade.”

For further information please see:

Bloomberg News — Former Guatemalan Dictator Rios Montt Guilty of Genocide Charges — 11 May 2013

The Atlantic News Wire — Rios Montt Convicted of Genocide — 10 May 2013

Human Rights Watch — Guatemala: Rios Montt Convicted of Genocide — 10 May 2013

New York Times — Former Guatemalan Dictator Rios Montt Convicted of Genocide — 10 May 2013 

SNHR: Death Toll for the Month of April

Syrian Network for Human Rights have documented  3487 Syrian citizen killed, including 983 from the armed opposition and 2504  civilians.

Among the civilians, 368 female civilians were killed, an average of 13 every day.

Among the civilians, 406 children were killed, an average of 14 children each day.  Every 2 hours a child dies in Syria by the hands of Assad’s forces.

 

 

Saudi Mistreatment of Shia Cleric

By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia is a Sunni ran state, where ten-to-fifteen percent of its Shia population are systematically discriminated against by receiving unequal treatment with regards to justice and religious freedom, and from a lack of access to public employment and education. Shia cleric Ayatollah Nimr al-Nimr sought to put an end to this unfair treatment with his words and has been met with violence, imprisonment, and the possibility of crucifixion.

Shia cleric ayatollah Nimr al-Nimr remains detained with a bullet still in his leg while awaiting a trial which may ultimately end in his crucifixion. (Photo Courtesy of Ahlul Bayt News Agency)

Al-Nimr was shot in the leg four times while he was being detained by Saudi authorities. Three of the bullets have been removed from the shattered bone of his leg, but one still remains. Al-Nimr has not received regular medical care or physical therapy regarding his leg injury while being held at the Security Forces Prison Hospital. Additionally, requests for a second opinion on his health have been denied.

The official stance from the Saudi authorities has been that al-Nimr resisted arrest by ramming a security forces’ vehicle and inciting a shoot-off. Al-Nimr was not known by his family to own a gun, and has consistently preached throughout time his disdain for guns and a need for “the weapon of the word.”

Once apprehended, al-Nimr remained detained for eight months before being charged with anything. The Rasid news of Saudi Arabia has reported that al-Nimr will face charges of “inciting to infringe on property of the state,” “interference in the affairs of a sister nation,” and “incitement to commit terrorism crimes [in the sister nation],” presumably referring to statements he made criticizing Bahrain. The trial court is also considering charges of “instigating riots,” “heightening sectarian strife,” “destabilizing the security of the state and calling on sons of the country to participate,” and “storing materials on the internet that harm public order and religious values.”

It has only been recently that the courts have allowed al-Nimr’s lawyer and brother to attend his trials. As of today, the court is still refusing to assess whether al-Nimr’s ten month continued detention has been appropriate. Al-Nimr has been held in a four-by-four meter windowless solitary isolation cell. Four the first four months of his detention he was denied any visitation, however, now he has been allowed an hour visit by immediate family once every two weeks.

The prosecutors are looking to throw the whole book at al-Nimr, and a heavy book at that. The sentence they are seeking for al-Nimr is that of crucifixion. The treatment of al-Nimr has led to Shia protests, which has in turn led to the shooting of protesters by security forces.

Don’t be startled if the hanging of al-Nimr’s body from a pole leads to more demonstrations and subsequent killings of demonstrators to “maintain order.”

For further information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: Cleric who Backed Protests on Trial for his Life – 11 May 2013

Al-Monitor – Saudi Arabia Clamps Down on Dissent – 3 May 2013

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Saudi Shia Cleric Ayatollah Nimr Appears Before a Saudi Judge – 1 May 2013

Al Jazeera – Cleric Faces Possible Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia – 30 April 2013