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Former Guatemalan soldier sentenced to 6,060 years for massacre

A former soldier has been sentenced to 6,060 years in prison for his role in the massacre of Mayan villagers in Guatemala in the early 1980s during the country's civil war.

201 Mayans were killed by Guatemalan soldiers in the village of Dos Erres over 3 days in 1982, with men, women and children shot and beaten to death.

Pedro Pimentel Rios, 55, who is the fifth soldier to be convicted for his role in the massacre, lived in California until his arrest in 2010 and was extradited from the US the following year.

Pimentel was given 30 years for each killing and another 30 years for crimes against humanity.

Earlier this year a court ruled that the former dictator of Guatemala, General Rios Montt, should face trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.

The civil war claimed over 200,000 lives, with entire Mayan villages wiped out by security forces as they were suspected to harbour leftist guerrillas.

Former Guatemalan leader to face Genocide charges (27 Jan 2012)

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