Guatemala's ex-president "unable" to stand trial: report

Former Guatemalan President Efrain Rios Montt was declared "unable" to face a re-trial for alleged crimes against humanity due to his deteriorating mental faculties, the National Institute for Forensic Science (Inacif) announced on Tuesday.

The 89-year-old ex-president was due to face new legal proceedings on July 23 for alleged crimes including genocide.

Inacif published a technical report on the health of the former military man, saying, "He is not in control of all his mental faculties. He is not able to properly understand the charges brought against him and he is unable to contribute to his own defence."

"As a result, he is not competent to attend court hearings," said the forensic group.

Rios Montt was sentenced to 80 years in prison during his first trial in May 2013 for his involvement in the massacre of indigenous people between 1982 and 1983 when he was in power.

At the time he was accused of genocide and crimes against humanity. However, weeks afterwards, Guatemala's constitutional court overturned the conviction and ordered a re-trial.

Rios Montt's defence lawyers asked for a medical evaluation of their client due to his age.

The Inacif report was presented to the judge who will make a decision on whether to accept the report or continue with the re-trial.

According to a UN report, around 200,000 people died or disappeared during Guatemala's internal armed conflict which went on for 36 years between 1960 and 1996.

The UN document states that many civilian killings were carried out by members of the army as part of its policy against insurgents. Enditem