Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt faces genocide trial Efrain Rios Montt leaves court in Guatemala City after being placed under house arrest. Photograph: Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity as the Central American nation seeks to put a brutal 36-year civil war behind it. A judge found sufficient evidence that linked Rios Montt, who ruled during a particularly bloody period in 1982-83, to the killing of more than 1,700 indigenous people in a crackdown on insurgents. "I believe that there is enough evidence in these charges," said Judge Carol Flores, who agreed with prosecutors that Rios Montt should answer for brutality under his rule. Prosecutors allege that Rios Montt, who ruled as commander-in-chief for 17 months, turned a blind eye as soldiers used rape, torture and arson to rid Guatemala of leftist insurgents. Lawyers also charge that Rios Montt conceived a counterinsurgency plan that killed at least 1,771 unarmed members of the Ixil tribe who he said were aiding guerillas and drove a further 29,000 to flee the country. Defence attorneys claim Rios Montt, 85, did not control battlefield operations during the 1960-1996 internal conflict that left nearly a quarter of a million dead or missing and therefore cannot be held responsible. "Each commander is responsible for making decisions in his own post," attorney Danilo Rodriguez said. Ixil women clad in bright red indigenous dresses attended the hearing, which ended in Rios Montt being ordered to remain under house arrest until a preliminary hearing in March. The rightwing party Rios Montt founded has lost relevance and the former general was turned out of congress in a September general election, losing the immunity from prosecution granted to public officials.