El Salvador court calls ex-president to trial for 1989 murders of priests

A court in El Salvador on Monday ruled to bring a former president and retired military officials to trial for their alleged roles in the prominent murder of six Jesuit priests and two collaborators during the country's civil war 35 years ago.

Former president Alfredo Cristiani, a former congressman and nine retired military officials are charged with murder and acts of terrorism against the priests and two female collaborators.

Cristiani's whereabouts are unknown. The defendants include former congressman Rodolfo Parker and retired military officials Oscar Leon and Manuel Rivas, who are also accused of alleged procedural fraud and personal cover-up.

"We are now heading to trial, and in that phase, we aim to prove that we truly have nothing to do with this," Colonel Oscar Leon told reporters upon learning of the decision.

In November 1989, a military commando stormed the Jesuit Central American University (UCA) campus, killing its rector, Spanish priest Ignacio Ellacuria, and five other religious individuals and two collaborators.

The civil war between El Savador's government and the leftist guerilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front lasted from 1980 to 1992 and resulted in some 75,000 deaths and 8,000 disappearances.