UN human rights office urges trial to be decided on merits after Guatemalan court overturns Ríos Mon
UN human rights office urges trial to be decided on merits after Guatemalan court overturns Ríos Montt conviction
24 May 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today said it was “concerned” about the legal rights of Guatemalans after a high court overturned the 80 year prison sentence against former military leader, Efrain Ríos Montt.
“Amid continued legal uncertainty about what the ruling of the Constitutional Court annulling the verdict on the Ríos Montt case means in practice, we are concerned about the right of victims in Guatemala to obtain remedies,” the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, told journalists in Geneva.
“The victims have waited three decades for justice for atrocities committed against the Ixil population, and it is unfortunate that a verdict of such importance has been annulled on procedural grounds,” Mr. Rupert continued.
He added that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recalls “States' obligations to prosecute those responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity” and that it hopes “this extremely important trial will be decided on its merits.”
More:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44993&Cr=&Cr1=#.UaEmtOoo7JU
