Peruvian cases

Current Cases

Main case: on trial (1)

PERU - Melisssa Rocío Patiño HinostrozaMelissa Rocío PATIÑO HINOSTROZA (f), a 20-year-old poet and university student, is on trial for terrorism, for her alleged involvement with a leftwing political organization, Bolivarian Continental Coordinator (Coordinadora Continental Boliviariana - CCB), which the Peruvian authorities claim is linked to terrorist groups. Patiño denies any political affiliations and to date no concrete evidence has been produced to back up the charges. She was detained from 29 February to 8 May 2008, when she was released pending trial. She potentially faces 20 years in prison if convicted.

[$1< Her case is the cause of widespread concern in Peru. Patiño, who is a member of the ‘Círculo del sur' (Southern Circle) poetry group in Lima and runs a poetry programme on radio and cultural activities for young people, was arrested along with six other individuals in Tumbes, on the border with Ecuador, on 29 February 2008. The seven were returning by bus from Quito, where they had attended the second congress of the CCB from 24 to 28 February 2008, which was reportedly held with the knowledge and consent of the Ecuadorian authorities. They were subsequently charged with ‘affiliation and collaboration with terrorism', apparently on the basis of their attendance at the CCB meeting. Initially detained in Tumbes by the Counterterrorism Division (División Contra el Terrorismo - DINCOTE), on 15 March 2008 Patiño was transferred to Santa Monica maximum security prison in Chorrillos, Lima, where she was held until 8 May. The Peruvian government alleges that the Peruvian chapter of CCB has links with Peruvian Marxist rebel group Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (MRTA) and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group in Colombia. It also reportedly accused CCB members of planning to sabotage the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings scheduled to be held in Peru in 2008.

Two of the six individuals who were detained along with Patiño are said to be former MRTA members; one has served a prison sentence for belonging to the MRTA and since his release has reportedly been organizing workshops and events at the university where Patiño studies (Universidad Mayor de San Marcos, Lima). However, Patiño's presence in the bus carrying former MRTA members appears to have been circumstantial. She denies that she belongs to or has ever had any involvement in any political groups. She reportedly attended the CCB congress after a colleague at the radio station where she works passed the invitation on to her as he could not himself attend, and her main motivation for attending was the opportunity to travel to Ecuador.

According to her lawyer, the accusations of terrorism against Patiño have been made on the basis of her alleged membership of the Peruvian chapter of the CCB, her attendance of the CCB congress in Ecuador and her participation in a march at the end of conference. During the march, she is said to have partially covered her face and shouted anti-imperialist and pro-socialism slogans, and to have been linked to graffiti criticizing Alan García, the Peruvian president. None of these activities can be said to amount to terrorist activities.

On 8 May 2008, after almost two and a half months' incarceration, Patiño was released on bail and allowed to return home pending trial. Peru's antiterrorist prosecutor, Julio Galindo, appealed against the decision to release Patiño, however his appeal was rejected in early October 2008, meaning that Patiño will remain free on bail for the duration of her trial. >1$]


Past Cases

Killed (2004-2008) (1)

James OSCCO ANAMARÍA: poet, university professor and social reformer.

PERU - James OSCCO ANAMARÍAOscco (35) was found murdered in Quitasol, near Abancay, on 20 October 2005. His body reportedly showed signs of torture including the loss of an eye and finger nails.

[$2< The police and the Interior Ministry (Ministerio Público) apparently showed very little interest in pursuing the individual or individuals responsible for Oscco's torture and murder, initially stating that he had committed suicide, then suggesting that it was a crime of passion. Oscco's lover was arrested in October in connection with the murder. However, she was released after 24 hours.

The motive behind the killing remains unclear and the authorities reportedly never carried out a proper investigation.

Oscco taught at the Universidad Nacional de Abancay and contributed to the Peruvian literary magazines Poesia en el Perú and Revista Peruana de Literatura. He also led poetry and theatre groups and was a member of the Abancay branch of the National Writers Congress (Congreso Nacional de Escritores - Abancay). His publications included: ‘Waqcha gaviota, ‘Mamacha del carmen', the short story collection Siempre seré águila (1996), the poetry collection Relámpagos de amor (2000), an essay entitled ‘Nuevo enfoque para producir y comprender textos' (2003), ‘La oratoria del lider' (unpublished) as well as articles on linguistics.

Useful links

>2$]

 


Emblematic case (1)

PERU - Yehude SIMON (cnr.org.pe)Yehude Simon Munaro (born 1947, Lima) is a writer and politician, currently Prime Minister of Peru. He was imprisoned between 1992 and 2000 on false terrorism charges. After his release he returned to politics and became governor of the Lambayeque region in 2003. He became Prime Minister in October 2008. Click here for more information.

 

 

Top of page