Guatemalan church accuses former president

The Roman Catholic Church in Guatemala has accused the country's former President, Alvaro Arzu, of involvement in the killing of the bishop and leading human rights activist, Juan Gerardi, in 1998.

A lawyer for the church helping the prosecution in the trial of five people for the murder of Bishop Gerardi, Mynor Melgar, accused the army of knowing of the plans to kill the priest.

He said Mr Arzu had to be aware of those plans since he was commander in chief of the army.

Mr Arzu, who was Guatemala's president at the time of the killing, says he only heard of the bishop's killing the day after it took place. Three military officers, one priest and a cook are accused of clubbing the bishop to death after he published a damning report on army abuses committed during Guatemala's civil war.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service