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Guatemalan Man Sentenced to 6,000 Years in Prison


A child runs past an arrangement of flowers and candles that spells out "justicia" (justice) in front of the Supreme Court at Guatemala City in this August 2011 photo.
A child runs past an arrangement of flowers and candles that spells out "justicia" (justice) in front of the Supreme Court at Guatemala City in this August 2011 photo.

An ex-Guatemalan soldier has been sentenced to 6,060 years in prison for his role in the 1982 massacre of 201 people.

A court sentenced Pedro Pimentel to 30 years in prison for each of the 201 victims, plus 30 years for crimes against humanity.The sentence is largely symbolic, since the maximum prison term under Guatemalan law is 50 years. Pimentel was extradited from the United States last year to face the charges.

Pedro Pimentel is escorted out of the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, March 12, 2012.
Pedro Pimentel is escorted out of the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, March 12, 2012.

Four other soldiers have received similar sentences.

The horrific killings occurred in December 1982, when dozens of soldiers raided the village of Dos Erres searching for missing weapons. The soldiers then bludgeoned the villagers to death with a sledgehammer before throwing them down a deep well.

The massacre occurred during the bloody 36-year civil war that ended in 1996.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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