Ex-Guatemala dictator Rios Montt still in hospital

Guatemala’s former dictator Efrain Rios Montt is escorted by police out of court after the verdict was announced in his genocide trial in Guatemala City, Friday, May 10, 2013. AP Photo

GUATEMALA CITY — Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt is spending a second day at a military hospital after fainting while on his way to a court hearing.

Defense lawyer Francisco Garcia Gudiel said Tuesday that his client’s health hasn’t improved, but he wouldn’t give details on what is ailing the ex-general.

Prison authorities say a judge will decide when Rios Montt goes back to the Matamoros prison.

Rios Montt was sent to prison Friday after receiving an 80-year sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity committed during his dictatorship in 1982 and 1983 at the height of Guatemala’s brutal civil war.

The defense attorney says the 86-year-old Rios Montt hasn’t been feeling well since Sunday. He says the former dictator suffers from high blood pressure and prostate and spine problems.