Efraín Ríos Montt to Stand Trial for Genocide

"Impunity is a perverse state that damages not only the 

victim, but society in general." - Judge Flores 

"We have to celebrate this historic event. Our struggle has become reality. It was worth it." - AJR activist

Last night, Judge Carol Patricia Flores ruled that there was sufficient evidence to formally charge former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt with genocide.  The U.S.-supported dictator ruled Guatemala in 1982 and 1983, while the military carried out a scorched earth policy at the height of the 36-year internal armed conflict.  Although this particular charge addresses massacres carried out in the Maya Ixil region, massacres were carried out throughout Guatemala and over 80% of the war's victims were indigenous Maya.

Graffiti artists created a mural that reads, "Ixil region - we demand justice".

"We can establish these are acts so degrading, so humiliating that there is no justification," the judge said after detailing the human rights abuses from survivors' testimonies.  In her decision, the judge clearly stated that the extermination of the civilian population was the result of military plans, and that these plans were executed under the command of Ríos Montt.

A memorial quilt with the names of family members killed during the conflict.

As the judge read the decision, family members, activists and supporters gathered outside the court applauded, hugged and lit firecrackers to celebrate.  Yesterday represented a huge symbolic and concrete step forward in the struggle against impunity for past and current crimes in Guatemala.

Impunity - Neither yesterday, nor today.

Ríos Montt posted bail and will be held under house arrest until his next trial date.   The Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) and the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) will be busy in the upcoming months preparing for trials against Ríos Montt and other members of his high command already facing genocide charges. 

"We are trying to achieve justice so that our children never experience these massacres. We ask the international community to be on alert and to support us in the struggle," the president of the AJR said yesterday outside the court. 

We are honored to have shared this historic moment and to have accompanied the survivors, their families and their legal advocates in this process for so many years.  We hope the courts will continue to proceed in accordance with international and national laws.

Thank you to all of you that have participated in the international support network!

Please stay tuned and take action in the critical months ahead:

• Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (@NISGUA_Guate) and receive email updates.
• If you haven't already, sign the Justice for Genocide petition!  
• Support the Guatemala Accompaniment Project, that provides accompaniment to human rights defenders seeking justice in Guatemala.
• Contact us to host an event, join our media efforts and get involved.

For more information and pictures of yesterday's events:

• CALDH and the Para que se conozca blog
• Al Jazeera video interviewing members of AJR, CALDH, and GHRC
• New York Times article
• Albedrio (in Spanish)
• Plaza Pública (in Spanish)
• Photo essay (in Spanish) - CPR Urbana 
• Photo essay (in Spanish) - Entre la milpa

Ríos Montt Linked to Genocide Process

Statement from CALDH and AJR

The Court has restored hope to Guatemalan society, which has waited nearly 30 years for the atrocities committed against the Mayan people to be recognized. In an historic and momentous act for  thousands of victims, Judge Carol Patricia Flores linked General José Efraín Ríos Montt, who functioned as head of state and one of the authors of the genocide, to the legal process. The members of the military high command in 1982 and 1983 are being held accountable, something that had seemed impossible, but today is a reality in Guatemala.

We applaud without hesitation the judge’s decision to incorporate Ríos Montt in the trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. However, we express our discontent with the house arrest authorized for him, due to the serious nature of his crimes that are of national and international significance.  This decision is also inconsistent, as the other two former members of the military accused of the same crimes are in preventative detention.

These facts show us that although there are judges and judicial officials who act according to the law, structures of power and impunity that favor certain sectors remain embedded within the country’s justice system. The Public Prosecutor detailed to the judge the elements of genocide and planning in which the accused participated - the same acts which were acknowledged by the judge and taken into consideration in the decision. Likewise, the Public Prosecutor justified the application of appropriate coercive measures for the accused, but this line of reasoning was rejected.

In 2001, surviving victims of the genocide filed a legal action against the military high command of 1982-83, comprised of the Head of State, Efraín Ríos Montt, the Minister of Defense, General Oscar Humberto Mejía Víctores, and General Héctor Mario López Fuentes. After almost 10 years of knocking on the doors of justice, the Public Prosecutor requested the first statement from Ríos Montt, linking him to the process.

These processes are a historic opportunity for the Guatemalan justice system to break with impunity, and to show the entire world that we are a country that complies with its law and with international human rights norms. Justice is the cornerstone that guarantees the non-repetition of violence. Therein lies the urgent necessity to apply it, for both the crimes of the past and the present.

The judge set a deadline of two months for the Public Prosecutor to present the indictment, after which a public hearing will be held to decide whether the case merits a public trial. We hope that the rest of the process will continue in accordance with the law; that the system of justice will not be unresponsive because of the significance of this case; and that it will not become complicit to delaying actions and obstructions that have characterized the strategy of the accused in other related cases.

On such a special day - marked on the sacred Mayan calendar by /Doce Tz´i´,/ which symbolizes justice, authority, the guardian of material and spiritual law - Guatemala takes a step forward in a landmark case for the country. We ask that the State respond in accordance with the law and the demands of justice. The State has a debt to the victims and survivors of the internal armed conflict.



TRUTH AND JUSTICE ARE THE ONLY ROAD TO RECONCILIATION.

Guatemala, 26 of January 2012
Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR)
Legal Action Center for Human Rights (CALDH)