Paramilitaries face trial for 1982 massacre of 256 Indians

Five former Guatemalan paramilitaries are set for trial Wednesday for the massacre of 256 Indians during the country's civil war, human rights activists said.

The start of the trial follows the sentencing Monday of a former military instructor convicted of participating in the 1982 killing of 201 rural residents suspected of being associated with leftist guerrillas.

The trial is expected to be completed within two weeks before the Court of High Risk A, according to the Legal Action Center for Human Rights (CALDH).

Four of the defendants were part of the Civil Self-Defense Patrols (PAC) while the fifth served as military commissioner, CALDH spokesman Jose Rodriguez said.

CALDH is a complainant in the case.

The massacre of Achi Maya Indians occurred on July 18, 1982 in the northern Guatemalan municipality of Rabinal.

Attorneys for CALDH plan to present 20 eyewitnesses and five expert witnesses to prove the involvement of the former paramilitaries.

The attack occurred during the 1982-1983 administration of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt.

A United Nations Truth Commission documented 669 massacres during Guatemala's civil war, of which 626 were attributed to government forces. Most were committed between 1982 and 1986 during the de facto governments of Rios Montt and Oscar Mejia Victores, according to the United Nations.

An estimated 200,000 people were killed or missing during the 1960-1996 civil war.