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Guatemala: 8 ex-military figures to face trial over killings
GUATEMALA CITY – Eight former members of Guatemala’s military were detained and will go on trial on charges of forced disappearances and crimes against humanity dating to killings in the country’s 36-year civil war, authorities said Tuesday.
In a court hearing, judge Claudet Dominguez ordered that proceedings begin against the ex-soldiers in connection with massacres committed during the 1960-1996 conflict.
The killings are related to more than 565 human remains found in mass graves in western Guatemala, and the victims are believed to have been killed by soldiers under the command of the suspects.
If convicted they face up to 50 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under Guatemalan law.
At least 245,000 people were killed or disappeared during the Central American nation’s civil war, according to the United Nations.
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