A court in Guatemala after viewing sufficient evidences provided against Efrain Rios Montt the former Guatemalan dictator of the country in a case of genocide for a particular period between 1982 and 1983 killing more then 1,700 people,the dictator is to face crime against humanity charges.
Ruling for 17 months as the commander-in-chief,Rios Montt refused to check the military as rape, torture and arson was used to rid Guatemala of leftist insurgents.
According to Reuters, Lawyers also charged that Rios Montt conceived a counterinsurgency plan that killed at least 1,771 unarmed members of the Ixil tribe that he said were aiding guerillas and drove another 29,000 more into forced exodus.
Defence attorneys claim that the 85-year-old did not control battlefield operations during the 1960-1996 internal conflict that left nearly a quarter of a million dead or missing and therefore cannot be held responsible.
Rios Montt addressed the judge and asked that his side be heard.
Judge Carol Flores agreed with prosecutors who said that, as head of the government, he should answer for brutality under his rule.
Rios Montt has been placed under house arrest until a preliminary hearing in March,his first bail set at 500,000 quetzals and his freedom to travel restricted.
Ixil women clad in bright red indigenous dresses attended the hearing and protested outside to demand that Rios Montt be held accountable for the deaths.
The right-wing party Rios Montt founded has lost relevance and the former general was turned out of Congress in a September general election, loosing the immunity from prosecution granted to public officials.