Ex-Paramilitary Soldiers Jailed For Sexual Abuse Of 36 Native Women In Guatemala

The group the ex-paramilitary soldiers were part of was blamed for several atrocities during the 1960-1996 war in Guatemala, in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed or disappeared.

Five former paramilitary soldiers were sentenced to 30 years in jail on Monday for sexually abusing 36 indigenous women during the country's civil war.

"We the judges firmly believe the testimonies of the women who were sexually violated," Judge Gervi Sical said in the ruling against the five former members of Guatemala's Civil Self-Defense Patrols (PAC).

The group was blamed for several atrocities during the 1960-1996 war in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed or disappeared.

Sical added the sentences were handed down for crimes against humanity.