Amnesty International censures the president of Peru for deaths of protesters

2023-05-25 22:54:00

The Peruvian President Dina Boluartebears part of the blame for the death of dozens of protesters at the hands of the security forces, has affirmed International Amnesty.

“She cannot evade her responsibility in the bloodshed,” told Bloomberg the Secretary General of Amnesty, Agnès Callamardin an interview in Lima following the organization published a new report on the violent acts.

Boluarte failed to prevent the police and army from taking the lives of protesters between December and February, according to the report, as Peru suffered its worst episode of civil unrest in decades. Boluarte took office in December following his predecessor was ousted, sparking mass riots and roadblocks that paralyzed the economy.

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As soon as he took office, he faced protests demanding his resignation, leading to nearly 50 civilian deaths. in clashes with security forces.

Those deaths spanned a two-month period, with two significant protests ending in the deaths of eight people in the city of Ayacucho on December 15 and 17 in the city of Juliaca on January 9.

• homicide investigation

No one has yet been charged in the deaths, although Boluarte herself faces a murder investigation.

“That she should be investigated for homicide is absolutely logical,” Callamard said.

Boluarte denies any responsibility and says that if the Police or the Army committed abuses it was on their own account, because they do not control their operations. She has previously congratulated the security forces on their handling of the protests.

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The murders “occurred over a period of time, that is, (Boluarte) had the information, which he might have used to demand a different response to the protests and he did not,” Callamard said. “So there is a liability because she did not take steps to prevent repeated violent acts…or because she herself ordered that level of repression.”

“I think we were able to show quite conclusively that they were extrajudicial killings”Callamard added.

The organization’s conclusions are stronger than previous reports by Human Rights Watch and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which found that Peru had “probably” carried out extrajudicial killings in its handling of protesters.

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