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Guatemalan Dictator Found Guilty of Genocide


Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt heads out for the day after his trial session at the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City, May 9, 2013.
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt heads out for the day after his trial session at the Supreme Court of Justice in Guatemala City, May 9, 2013.
A Guatemalan court has found former dictator Efrain Rios Montt guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity.

A judge in Guatemala City sentenced the 86-year-old to 80 years in prison - 50 years for genocide and 30 years for crimes against humanity.

Rios Montt was convicted of ordering the deaths of 1,771 people of the Ixil Maya ethnic group during his time in office in 1982 and 1983.

The retired general had denied the charges, saying he neither knew of nor ordered the massacres while in power.

He is expected to appeal the court's decision.
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