marco antonio

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The genocide conviction against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt is overturned. Full Story: Guatemala's highest court on Monday overturned a genocide conviction against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt and reset his trial back to when a dispute broke out a month ago over who should hear the case. Rios Montt was found guilty on May 10 of overseeing the killings by the armed forces of at least 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil population during his 1982-83 rule. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison. Giovanni Salguero, the Deputy Secretary of the constitutional court, made the announcement. [Giovanni Salguero, Deputy Secretary constitutional court]: "Everything said in the phase of moral and public debate of the legal process will be intercepted under the process of amparo from April 19, 2013. All proceedings before that date are annulled." Rios Montt's defence attorney said his client had suffered a violation of his rights. [Marco Antonio Rossel, Attorney]: "The right of defence was violated constantly. Which is sacred. It is a constitutional rule. No other superior rule exists. It is an institution of law. And it has to be complied with." When in power, his government launched a fierce offensive in which soldiers raped, tortured and killed tens of thousands of Mayan villagers suspected of helping Marxist rebels. Thousands more were forced into exile or had to join paramilitary forces fighting leftist rebels. Rios Montt's conviction was hailed as a landmark for justice in the Central American nation, where as many as 250,000 people were killed in a bloody civil war lasting from 1960 to 1996. However, the country's Constitutional Court on Monday ordered that all the proceedings be voided going back to April 19, when one of the presiding judges suspended the trial because of a dispute with another judge over who should hear it. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C