- 7 Dec 2007
- Region: REPUBLIC OF PERU
- Topic:
On the eve of the trial of Alberto Fujimori, Amnesty International saidthat the proceedings constitute a crucial step towards justice in Peru butwarned that the country still has a long way to go.
Amnesty International hopes that the trial of the former President will beimpartial and that it will help to allow further judicial investigationsto be opened so that all human rights violations committed in Peru can bebrought before the courts.In particular, the organization said that, in the context of cracking downon crimes committed by Sendero Luminoso, Shining Path, and the MovimientoRevolucionario Tupac Amaru, Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, between1980 and 2000, members of the Peruvian military and security forcessystematically committed widespread breaches of international law,including disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture.
Amnesty International also stressed the importance of having an effectiveprogramme for protecting surviving victims and relatives, witnesses andlawyers who are involved in the trial.
The organization maintained that the only way to ensure that the humanrights violations committed in the past do not recur in the future is forjustice to be done and, in order for that to happen, action needs to betaken to ensure that those involved in proceedings can do so without fearof reprisal.
Amnesty International said that truth, justice and reparations areessential to prevent any future recurrence of the human rights violationscommitted in the past.
Background InformationAlberto Fujimori is accused of being responsible for the killing of 15women, men and children in Barrios Altos, Lima, in 1991 and the torture,disappearance and murder of nine students and one teacher from La CantutaUniversity in 1992. These crimes were attributed to the “Colina” Group, adeath squad set up in 1991 within the Army Intelligence Services. Theestablishment of this group is believed to have been part of acounter-insurgency strategy allegedly implemented by Alberto Fujimori.
Former President Alberto Fujimori is also accused of having ordered thekidnapping and torture of critics of his government at the headquarters ofthe Military Intelligence Service where he lived during 1992.
During the ten-year presidency of Alberto Fujimori, Amnesty Internationaldocumented hundreds of cases of disappearance and extrajudicial executionat the hands of the Peruvian security forces. During those ten years,torture and ill-treatment were also widely practiced by the securityforces.
AI Index: AMR 46/011/2007
7 December 2007
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