Ex-general tried for genocide of Maya people in Guatemala's civil war
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Benedicto Lucas Garcia is being tried for involvement between 1978 and 1982, when his brother was president, and is being charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and forced disappearance - all of which may serve him 100 years in prison.
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Former Guatemalan army commanders Benedicto Lucas Garcia, Manuel Callejas, and Cesar Octavio Noguera Argueta at a courtroom in Guatemala City, Monday, November 25, 2019. (AP)
A court in Guatemala witnessed a 91-year-old former general go to trial on Friday for the genocide linked to the massacre of 1,200 Ixil Maya Indigenous people during the country's 1960-1996 civil war.
Benedicto Lucas Garcia is being tried for involvement in the genocide between 1978 and 1982, when his brother was president, and is being charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, and forced disappearance - all of which may serve him 100 years in prison.
Lucas Garcia served as the armed forces chief during the presidency of his brother Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, who died in 2006 at 81 years old.
A father of seven children, Lucas Garcia called himself a "national hero" as he was being accused of the massacres in villages in the western region of Quiche.
He joined the trial by video link from a military hospital, where he is currently serving a 58-year prison sentence for forced disappearance, rape, and torture, as he said, "I'm already desperate".
Lawyer Nery Rodenas of the Human Rights Office of the Archbishopric of Guatemala, told AFP that over 80 expert reports are to be presented and about 30 survivors will testify in the case.
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"We hope that the court considers that this is sufficient evidence to issue a conviction," he said, adding, "We pursue knowledge of the truth and access to justice that can lead to forgiveness and reconciliation between victims and perpetrators,"
An expert witness presented reports of the exhumations of dozens of bodies found with bullet holes and burns from mass graves.
During the dictatorship, the military accused the Ixil Maya population of being a support base for leftist guerrillas. According to the non-governmental organization Association for Justice and Reconciliation, almost 1,300 Indigenous people died, including children and the elderly.
Former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison in 2013 for the genocide, but the sentence was later overturned and he died in 2018, aged 91.
The former head of military intelligence, Manuel Callejas, was due to stand trial with Lucas Garcia, but due to mental incapacity, he will be tried behind closed doors.
It is worth noting that during Guatemala's civil war, around 200,000 people died or disappeared, with over 80% being ethnic Maya, according to United Nations data.
