COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, WORLD NEWS: Spain's high court will look into atrocities committed during Guatemala's civil war. Noble peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu has filed the request accusing three former rulers of genocide and torture. CNN's Mark Armstrong takes a look at the history of the accused.</s>MARK ARMSTRONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once an evangelical preacher, but then a dictator, General Efrain Rios Montt presided over one of the bloodiest theaters (ph) in Guatemala's 36-year civil war. He and two other former dictators, Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores and Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, are among those accused of atrocities during the conflict. Yet last year, General Montt was constitutionally voted back into power as president of congress.</s>GEN. EFRAIN RIOS MONTT FORMER GUATEMALAN DICTATOR (through  translator): The state is a judicial representation of people and of a territory. It is not the president. The state is a constitution and the constitution sets down what the people want the government to do.</s>ARMSTRONG: General Montt was originally brought to power in 1982, after a coup against democratically elected leader Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia. The general was himself overthrown a year later. But his regime was blamed for thousands of killings across Guatemala in an attempt to purge the countryside of opposition factions. Exhumations like this one became commonplace as people was restored. Here, 19 men were reburied 14 years after they've been slaughtered. Now, Spain's high court is to investigate a series of massacres in the early 80s after an appeal by Noble Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu. The Guatemala human rights activist have approached the court last December. The investigation could lead to extradition proceedings and charges against five generals, including the notorious Efrain Rios Montt. Mark Armstrong, CNN.
Spanish High Court To Examine Alleged Atrocities During  Guatemala's Civil War