Former U.S.-backed Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt has been found guilty of genocide in a historic trial. He was the first head of state in the Americas to stand trial for genocide. Ríos Montt was sentenced to 50 years in prison for genocide and an additional 30 years for crimes against humanity for overseeing the slaughter of more than 1,700 people in Guatemala’s Mayan region after he seized power in 1982. His co-defendant, Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez, his former head of military intelligence, was found not guilty.

For minute-by-minute coverage of the trial, we have created a Twitter list of journalists and organizations covering the proceedings.

Tweets from @democracynow/rios-montt-trial

-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-

DEMOCRACY NOW! COVERAGE OF TRIAL

From today: 'Despite Evidence of Massacres, Former Guatemalan Dictator Proclaims Innocence at Genocide Trial'

From April 19th: 'Exclusive: Allan Nairn Exposes Role of U.S. and New Guatemalan President in Indigenous Massacres'

Click here to watch or read all of Democracy Now!’s ongoing coverage of the trial

-–-–-–-–-–-–-–-

MORE WEB RESOURCES ON RIOS MONTT TRIAL

Allan Nairn’s blog

Coverage of the trial from the Open Society Justice Initiative

Live audio stream of trial [when court is in session]