Next Saturday May 10th will be the first anniversary of the verdict by which General Efraín Ríos Montt was convicted for genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 80 years in prison. Although this verdict recognizing the genocide against the Ixil Mayans of Guatemala has no precedents in Latin American jurisprudence, it was overturned soon after, leaving completely defenseless the victims and victim’s relatives that testified during the trial, with great danger to their psychic and physical integrity.
At OSU, we are joining the international campaign #SentenciaPorGenocidio 10 de mayo (VerdictForGenocide May 10) in order to help prevent more impunity in Guatemala, and wishing to support the victims and witnesses that testified in the trial. We will gather on FRIDAY MAY 9th, at 2:30 pm in the Multicultural Center Meeting Room (Ohio Union, Ground Floor, OSU campus).
At the event, we will project a short documentary about the trial and we will read some passages from the verdict both in English and in Spanish.
We ask you to join us in this effort to recognize the victims of a genocidal conflict that left behind more than 200,000 deaths and missing people, 1,500,000 refugees and internal migrants and 626 confirmed massacres.
