Delegation urges Peru to release U.S.
citizen
By NCR STAFF
A six-member delegation recently visited Lori Berenson, a U.S.
citizen jailed in Peru on charges of terrorism three years ago, and demanded
her immediate release.
At a March 10 news conference following the delegations
return to the United States, Berensons father challenged Peru to comply
with international law and free her.
Berenson, 29, was working as a freelance journalist in Peru when
she was accused of participation in a failed plot to seize control of the
Peruvian parliament by the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. She was
sentenced to life in prison by a hooded military tribunal. Human rights
organizations charged she was denied due process. During the trial no evidence
was presented against her, and she was not allowed to offer a defense.
If Peru wants to play in this world as an equal partner in
the world community, it must abide by international regulations, said
Berensons father, Mark Berenson. The world has spoken out and said
that your military tribunals are illegal. They violate international law to
which Peru is a signatory, and Peru must comply.
At the news conference, the delegation, which was in Peru from
March 2 to 4, presented a letter that Lori Berenson wrote in August 1998 to
members of the community of organizations for human rights,
maintaining her innocence of the charges against her.
The United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has called
Berensons imprisonment arbitrary detention. Amnesty
International has also stated that she did not receive a fair trial.
Amnesty has charged that Berenson is being subjected to cruel and
inhuman punishment and has not received the medical attention she needs.
According to Amnesty, she was transferred from Yanamayo Maximum Security Prison
to Socabaya Prison in October 1998 ostensibly because of her poor
health. However, after her arrival, she was placed in solitary
confinement for 115 days.
The delegation expressed concern for Berensons health. They
said she was suffering from blood circulation and skin problems, as well as eye
problems due to confinement in the dark. Loris hands are purple and
inflamed due to the harsh prison conditions, a statement said.
Nonetheless, she continues to voice concern about the rights of other
prisoners who have been forced to endure brutal treatment in the prisons high
in the mountains of Peru.
The delegations visit came on the heels of a report from the
U.S. State Department, which called Perus justice system the worst in
South America.
Delegation members included Blase Bonpane, director of the Office
of the Americas; Kirsten Gardner, Berensons college roommate; and the
Rev. Lucius Walker, director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community
Organization/Pastors for Peace.
National Catholic Reporter, March 19,
1999
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