Guatemala moves to drop charges against ex-dictator

Guatemala prosecutors have moved to drop genocide and war crimes charges against former dictator Oscar Mejia, who ruled from 1983-86, arguing that the 80-year-old is not fit to stand trial. "Based on both forensic and psychiatric reports, and in accordance with applicable law, the criminal prosecution of Mr Mejia cannot continue, and so we have to suspend (it)," chief prosecutor Manuel Vasquez told reporters Tuesday. The prosecutor's decision was to be formally submitted on January 5 to Judge Patricia Flores, who earlier this month had ordered Mejia to be moved from a hospital to his home under surveillance. The former general was facing charges over the massacre of indigenous communities in northern Guatemala during the brutal 1960-1996 civil war, in which some 200,000 people died or went missing, according to UN estimates. Mejia ruled Guatemala from 1983-86 after gaining power through a coup, during a period of bloody unrest in the Central American country. Defense lawyers had requested the charges be dropped, saying Mejia would be unable to take part in a trial. Specialists concluded that Mejia has an "organic medical disorder" that makes it difficult for him to express himself and "limits his capacity to understand," Flores said in October, shortly after Mejia's arrest. The team from the National Institute of Forensic Science also said Mejia had lost movement in his legs and decided that given his physical and mental condition he was incapable of facing a trial.