Common Sense for the Twenty-First Century

Lori Berenson

47 Lori Berenson August 7, 2002 The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States has vindicated Lori Berenson. It has ruled that Peru’s authoritarian laws instituted by the now disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori are illegal and violate fundamental human rights as specified by the American Convention on Human Rights. This ruling was a very powerful condemnation of Peru at every level. Lori has never had a trial that respected her rights or met international standards of fairness and due process. She was charged under the antiterrorist laws that the Inter-American Commission has said are unacceptable. And she has been incarcerated under conditions that are inhumane and degrading. Unfortunately, despite this ruling, Lori continues to be held in a remote mountain prison because Peru refuses to act responsibly and abide by its international human rights commitments. Instead, Peru has chosen the unprecedented step of suing the Inter-American Commission at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. We are sure the Inter-American Court will also vindicate Lori. Lori is innocent of the charges that were used to sentence her on two separate occasions in illegal court procedures under internationally condemned laws. She has never been charged with a violent act. She first faced a kangaroo court in the form of a hooded military tribunal in 1995. Her retrial in 2000, which was highly touted in Peru as “fair,” was nothing more than a show trial, now condemned by the Inter-American Commission . This November will mark seven years of wrongful imprisonment for Lori. She spent nearly three years at the internationally condemned Yanamayo Prison in the southern Andes where the bitter cold and 12,700 feet altitude severely impaired her health. She later endured months of solitary confinement at Socabaya Prison until Amnesty International, the Catholic Church and the International Committee of the Red Cross intervened. 48 On December 21, 2001, she was physically and sexually abused when moved to Huacariz Prison in the northern Andes. And now that the Peruvian government is waging an all out fight including an unprecedented legal attack on the Inter-American Commission, Lori must wait for the Inter-American Court decision. This will mean more years of wrongful imprisonment and possible mistreatment unless the United States government acts forcefully. ...