Guatemala: Ex dictador to face genocide charges

GUATEMALA CITY— The lawyer for ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt says a judge violated his client’s due process when she charged him with genocide.

Danilo Rodriguez Galvez says Judge Carol Patricia Flores was supposed to issue her decision in the case only after testimony on allegations that Rios Montt was involved in hundreds of murders, human violations and the displacement of 29,000 during Guatemala’s bloody civil war.

Flores charged Rios Montt with genocide late Thursday.

It’s the first time a Latin American court has charged former president with genocide.

Rodriguez said Friday that Flores lectured Rios Montt for an hour before issuing her decision.

He said her conduct resembled a conviction and that he would file a formal complaint.