On April 4, five defendants from the Guatemalan Republican Front were found guilty
of verbally attacking Rigoberta Menchú Tum, the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize
winner, because of her Maya Quiche ethnicity. The defendants were sentenced to
three years and two months in prison and fined $400 on charges of discrimination
and disturbing the peace when they harrassed Tum on October 9, 2003, during a
public hearing opposing the presidential candidacy of General Efrain Ríos
Montt. The defendents have the option of avoiding jail time by paying $10 for
each day of their sentence.
