PERU: poet Melissa Patiño released

13 May 2008

Update #2 to RAN 20/08

The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN welcomes the release pending trial of the 20-year-old poet Melissa Rocío Patiño Hinostroza, who was released from maximum security prison on 8 May, after 70 days' detention. However, Patiño still faces up to 20 years in prison for her alleged involvement with a leftwing political organization which the Peruvian government claims is linked to terrorist groups. The authorities have still not produced any concrete evidence to back up these charges. The WiPC is calling on the authorities either to substantiate the charges against Patiño and to ensure that she receives a fair trial, or to drop the case.

The poet and university student Melissa Rocío Patiño Hinostroza (f) was released from the Santa Monica maximum security prison in Chorrillos, Lima, on the evening of 8 May 2008, after almost two and a half months' incarceration. Patiño, aged 20, was allowed to return home on payment of 1,000 Soles (approx. £186) bail. She remains on trial on terrorism charges and, if convicted, could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

The poet, who is a member of ‘Círculo del sur' (Southern Circle) poetry group in Lima and runs a poetry programme on radio, was detained on 29 February when returning from a conference in Ecuador organized by the leftwing political organization Bolivarian Continental Coordinator (Coordinadora Continental Boliviariana - CCB; see below for more details). She was subsequently charged with being an accomplice to terrorism on the basis of her attendance at the congress of CCB, which the Peruvian authorities claim is linked to terrorist groups in Peru and abroad. The poet denies being involved in any political groups, and has said that her main motivation for attending was the opportunity to travel to Ecuador.

Two and a half months on, the authorities have still not produced any concrete evidence to back up the terrorism charges. The accusations have been made on the basis of Patiño's 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 which she is said to have shouted anti-imperialist and pro-socialism slogans. None of these activities can be said to amount to terrorist activities.

Peru's antiterrorist prosecutor, Julio Galindo, reportedly intends to appeal against the decision to release Patiño.

Background information

• Patiño was arrested along with six other individuals near 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 Bolivarian Continental Coordinator (CCB) from 24 to 28 February.
• CCB is a public forum that brings together civil society organizations in support of promoting the ‘Bolivarian revolution' (a political concept entailing Latin American unity and socialism inspired by the current Venezuelan model) across the continent (see http://www.conbolivar.org/). The congress, which was reportedly held with the knowledge and consent of the Ecuadorian authorities, attracted some 800 delegates from across Latin America.
• The authorities claim that the Peruvian chapter of the CCB is linked to the Peruvian Marxist rebel group Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (MRTA) and the Colombian guerrilla group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). They have reportedly also accused CCB members of planning to sabotage the Latin American-European Union (ALC-UE) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings to be held in Peru May and November 2008 respectively.
• Two of the six individuals who were detained along with Patiño are said to be former MRTA members; one of them has previously spent several years in prison for belonging to the organization. According to Patiño, she had not met any of the six before travelling to Ecuador.
• The case has attracted widespread media attention and support in Peru and internationally. A petition requesting Patiño's release was signed by more than 1,600 writers, artists and other individuals around the world and presented to President Alan García (see http://les-risques-du-journalisme.over-blog.com/article-18548743.html).

For more information, see the following previous alerts on the case:

• RAN 20/08 - 1 April 2008: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/peru-20-year-old-poet-detained-since-february-on-terrorism-charges

• Update #1 to RAN 20/08 - 20 April 2008: http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/go/news/peru-two-months-on-young-poet-still-detained-on-terrorism-charges