World News | Guatemala Sentences 5 Ex-patrol Members for 1982 Rapes
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. A court in Guatemala sentenced five former members of a pro-government "civilian patrol" to 30 years in prison on Monday in connection with the rape of indigenous women during the Central American country's civil war.
Guatemala City, Jan 25 (AP) A court in Guatemala sentenced five former members of a pro-government "civilian patrol" to 30 years in prison on Monday in connection with the rape of indigenous women during the Central American country's civil war.
The patrols functioned as pro-government militias to help the army fight leftist guerrillas and like the army, they faced widespread accusations of committing atrocities.
Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war pitted the army and police against leftist rebels, and resulted in more than 2 lakh deaths.
The five ex-patrol members were directly accused of raping five women of the Achí group in the village of Rabinal in 1982.
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An additional 29 women said patrol members had participated in killings or kidnappings, but did not directly identify the five defendants as the perpetrators.
Judge Gelvi Sical said the victims "have waited years to break the silence, be heard and demand justice". (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)