Ex-Guatemala governor goes on trial for massacre of Ixil Maya people

A Guatemalan ex-governor, accused of murdering more than 1200 indigenous Ixil Maya people during the country’s 1960-1996 civil war has gone on trial, AFP reported.

Benedicto Lucas Garcia, who served as armed forces chief during the 1978-1982 presidency of his brother Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, is charged with the planning and execution of dozens of massacre in the western region of Quiche.

His charges include genocide, crimes against humanity and forced disappearance.

Currently Garcia, 91, is serving a 58-year prison sentence for abduction, rape, and torture.

He attended his trial which began on Friday through a video link from a military hospital.

In a futile plea, he said: "I'm already desperate."

In the trial, more than 80 expert reports including reports of the exhumations of dozens of bodies with bullet holes and burns from mass graves will be presented and about 30 survivors will testify against him.

lawyer Nery Rodenas, from the Human Rights Office of the Archbishopric of Guatemala said: "We hope that the court considers that this is sufficient evidence to issue a conviction."

The Ixil Maya population was accused by the military of serving as a support base for leftist guerrillas, during the civil war.

According to the non-governmental organisation Association for Justice and Reconciliation, around 1,300 indigenous people died in the massacres, including children and the elderly.