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| Council On Hemispheric Affairs |
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| Memorandum to the Press 04.90 |
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Word Count: 1400
•
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights was scheduled to formally announce
its ruling on Friday, denying the petition of Lori Berenson, a political prisoner
in Peru convicted of abetting the rebel terrorist Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement.
• Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo saw fit to prematurely announce the
news the day before.
• According to President Toledo, Peru was informed that the Court will uphold
Berenson’s twenty-year sentence. This shocking decision by the highly respected
Human Rights Court represents a dramatic blow to Berenson’s future appellate
prospects. Yet Toledo is not out of the woods. It must be recalled that the
Toledo administration had made it perfectly plain that, when it came to Berenson,
it was not prepared to relent on its past refusal to uphold international
law and humanitarian norms, or to give up his trophy prisoner: a young, articulate
and idealistic woman.
• Toledo’s apparent praise of the Court strikingly contradicts with the view
that his administration held of the judicial body in the weeks leading up
to the ruling, as two of his top officials adamantly cast doubt upon the Court’s
very validity when they announced that Peru had no intentions to act on the
Court’s ruling if, in fact, it favored releasing Berenson.
• The time has now come for President Toledo to act as a compassionate human
being and fulfill the pledge he made upon taking office to promote international
standards of human rights by extending to Lori Berenson an administrative
pardon. After all, his popularity with his own people already is at rock bottom
over his multiple delinquencies, including fathering a once unacknowledged
child and an indolent and self-indulgent lifestyle that does nothing for his
people.
The unexpected decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH), based in San José, Costa Rica, to uphold the severe prison sentence of American journalist Lori Berenson, who has been detained in dingy prison facilities in Peru for the last nine years, must be seen as a profound blow to standards of human rights and justice within the hemispheric community. In some ways, the Court’s decision was merely an academic exercise, as Peruvian authorities have consistently made clear that they would renege on their previously firm assurances to comply with the CIDH’s findings had the Court ruled otherwise, by vehemently insisting that they did not intend under any circumstances to release a “proven” terrorist. Toledo’s surprise announcement leaves many questions to be answered, as the Court has not yet shared the details of its official decision.
Peru’s
Flawed Judicial System
Berenson’s 1995 arrest and subsequent trial by a “star chamber court” comprised
of hooded military judges, usually with scant or no legal training and being
granted no right of habeas corpus, resulted in her being sentenced to life
imprisonment on charges of holding a leadership role in the rebel Tupac Amaru
Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), which, at that time, purportedly was involved
in plotting to abduct members of the Peruvian Congress. That the trial was
rife with judicial malfeasance and that due process of law was blatantly denied
is irrefutable. In fact, not only was Berenson’s defense team prevented proper
access to evidence, it was not able to cross-examine witnesses. Only due to
heavy international pressure was a public retrial held in 2001 that reduced
her sentence to twenty years on charges of abetting a terrorist organization,
which in themselves was a violation of outdated and unconstitutional anti-terrorism
laws implemented under former political strongman Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000).
These laws provided the basis for many of the later trial’s flaws.
An
Appeal to Human Rights
In response to this second tainted conviction, Berenson appealed to the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for judicial review. The 2002 issuance
by that body stated that Berenson’s trials were clearly unfair, arguing that
the state did not provide her with due process. Maurice Paprin, the Council
on Hemispheric Affairs’ (COHA) chief investigator of the Berenson case noted,
“The report also found that she originally had been charged under flawed provisions
of Fujimori’s illegal and repressive anti-terrorism laws, which even Peru’s
Supreme Court later declared unconstitutional in early 2003.” In fact, the
report found that Peru must restore full rights to Berenson, provide monetary
compensation for damages incurred while in prison and enact a detailed overhaul
of the nation’s anti-terrorism policies. To this day, Toledo has failed to
fully repeal these antiquated laws or consider any restitution for Berenson.
Peru instead rejected the Commission’s recommendation and decided to take
the case to the CIDH. In the course of a July 16, 2002 press conference at
the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, D.C., then-Minister of Justice Fernando
Olivera challenged the finding of the IACHR, announcing his country’s plan
to take the case to the Inter-American Human Rights Court. In responding to
a question posed by a representative of COHA, and with the hopeful expectations
that the Court would reject the findings of the Commission, Olivera responded
by insisting that Peru is a civilized country “and would accept the [Court’s]
ruling on the Berenson case and release her if this is what the Court ordered.”
Toledo’s
Cronies Carry Out His Dirty Work
In spite of this former high official’s comment at the time, two of Toledo’s
senior officials recently rejected the possibility that Peru would have abided
by the Court’s decision if it had ruled in Berenson’s favor. Astonishingly
enough, Peru’s foreign minister, Manuel Rodriguez, told reporters on November
20 that regardless of the CIDH’s final ruling, Lima would not release Berenson:
“In no case would any ruling be observed that recommends freedom of people
accused of terrorism.” Eliminating any possibility of a misinterpretation
of Rodriguez’s statements are the words echoed by another top Peruvian official,
Carlos Ferrero, Toledo’s head of Cabinet. On November 25, Ferrero reinforced
the government’s plan to ignore the ruling of the Human Rights Court, stating
that he “cannot guess what resolution the Inter-American Human Rights Court
will make, but [is] sure that whatever it is, Peru will not accept in any
way the possibility that it will signify [Berenson’s] release.” Such an irresponsible
disavowal of Peru’s solemn responsibilities to uphold international standards
of human rights completely nullifies Toledo’s claim that he has taken a strong
and principled stand against the bloody violations perpetrated during the
Fujimori dictatorship.
A
Human Rights Court that Fails to Protect Human Rights
COHA’s Maurice Paprin observed that, “The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
has, for the quarter-century of its existence, been vigilant in its efforts
to protect and guarantee human rights in this hemisphere. The Court's ruling
here is a bewildering repudiation of its well-earned reputation for securing
justice.” The Toledo government's emphatic broadcasting of its intent to not
comply with the Court, if it had ruled the other way, is a striking counterpoint
from the usual practice of states to voicelessly honor the Court’s decisions.
Such actions raise the question as to whether the Toledo government's recent
statements may have in some small way served to pre-empt the Court's jurisdiction
and swayed it to sustain rather than reverse the previous rulings of the Peruvian
judicial system.
Toledo’s eagerness to trumpet the Court’s decision demonstrates his willingness
to use the Berenson case as a wedge issue to play to Peru’s sense of nationalism,
even as his policies have alienated the mass of impoverished Peruvians who
had hoped he would improve their plight and repair the damage done by the
corrupt Fujimori regime. Toledo’s satisfaction with the decision will only
bolster the complacency and tone-deafness of his disappointing and error-prone
administration that has now become infamous for its scandals, lack of veracity,
indolence and incompetence.
The time has come for President Toledo to fulfill the promise he gave to the
Peruvian people to support his country’s basic human rights, a main point
of his presidential campaign. The most effective way for him to show the people
of his country and the nations of this hemisphere that he is seriously dedicated
to respecting these basic freedoms and the need for reconciliation is to extend
an administrative pardon to Lori Berenson in light of the CIDH’s recent ruling.
Few courts in the world would have handed down such a harsh penalty in the
first place, and the nine years that Berenson has already served is ample
punishment for any crimes that the Peruvian authorities think she may have
committed. Berenson’s release would demonstrate that the Toledo administration
is at last willing to grant an act of mercy and comply with the expectations
of thousands of U.S. legislators, church leaders and eminent deans and professors
of law who have signed petitions calling for Lori Berenson’s release.
This
analysis was prepared by Matthew B. Riley, COHA Research Associate.
Additional research provided by Nicholas Birns, Ph.D.
December
3, 2004
For additional information on the Lori Berenson trial and on former Justice Minister Fernando Olivera's July 2002 statements, please click on the following link:
COHA
Memorandum to the Press 02.30
COHA
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