IEC-US: FUJIMORI REGIME ARRESTS LAWYERS
FOR DEFENDING POLITICAL PRISONERS
|
Also available in PDF format.   Print the PDF file, copy and distribute! |
Since November 1997, eight more Peruvian lawyers have been arrested and detained by the government. All eight are known for their courageous stands in defense of Peruvian political prisoners against the terrible injustices of the Fujimori government. They are being railroaded into prison under life sentences for charges of treason and terrorism—themselves accused of subversive activity—for representing the legal rights of their clients!
The lawyers are Carlos Gamero Quispe, Ernesto Messa Delgado, Esteban Suarez Gonzalez, Freddy Huaraz Riquez, Luis Ramon Landaure, Magno Marinos Abanto, Rodolfo Ascencios, and Teodor Bendezu Montes. All have been incarcerated under outrageous conditions at the maximum security prison “Miguel Castro Castro” in Lima. All eight lawyers have long histories of defending prisoners accused of terrorism, people who live in the shanty-towns, and others who have come under attack by the government of Peru. As a result of this work they have faced death threats, arrests, and constant harassment. They have courageously carried out their work in the face of these attacks.
William C. Harrell, vice-president of the National Lawyers Guild (U.S.), explains that “The intimidation, arrest, and imprisonment of defense lawyers began in earnest in Peru when Fujimori staged the self-coup in 1992. A central element to that bold initiative was disbanding the judiciary and putting in place a judicial system which has been instrumental in carrying out the draconian ‘anti-terrorism law’ and other decrees .... Anyone who is concerned about violations of basic human rights and political repression anywhere should indeed be outraged by what is going on in Peru.”
The government of Peru recently claimed it has ended the infamous “hooded judges” kangaroo courts. Big deal! Now the authorities will let the accused see the faces of the hangmen in robes. But meanwhile without missing a beat, they have promptly taken steps to lock up any attorneys who would defend people accused under the "anti-terrorism" decrees. Other Peruvian lawyers attempting to represent their eight colleagues have been prevented from doing their jobs, including not being allowed to even see the case files to prepare any defense, while the detained lawyers were held long past the legal limit of 30 days without charges. The lawyers who have stepped forth to come to the defense of these eight have also been harassed and threatened. One was arrested to force him to drop the case and was then threatened with treason charges. Two others who initially took up defense tasks were suspended by a military court after filing a legal motion on behalf of their client.
And meanwhile, the authorities have continued to issue new orders for the arrests of still more lawyers.
A handwritten statement issued from prison in January, signed by five of the detained lawyers, states in part:
“The real reason for our detention is to impede the right to defense and freedom to carry out our profession, in this way no lawyer would dare to freely defend a person under investigation for terrorism for fear of being detained or implicated.”
Like the thousands of people who have already been tried and convicted in Peru’s notorious “faceless” courts, these eight lawyers have been denied their rights and denied the most basic judicial guarantees. One of them, Dr. Luis Ramon Landaure, a 67-year-old prominent defense attorney, has already been tried and convicted of treason before the hooded judges of a “faceless” military tribunal, and has been sentenced to life. Two others, Drs. Freddy Huaraz and Teodoro Bendezu, have already been convicted in the civilian courts. The others are awaiting trial in the civilian courts. The only testimony brought against these lawyers has been given by “arrepentidos,” so-called repentents, who under the 1993 Law of Repentance give information on others in exchange for pardons or lighter sentences.
All justice-loving people should join in denouncing these outrageous arrests. People around the world must raise strong demands that all eight of these lawyers be freed immediately, and that the government stop its brutal persecution and threats against the attorneys who defend clients charged under the anti-terrorism decrees.
As the statement from the lawyers says:
“It is up to our people, and up to the lawyers of Peru and the world to unite and demand that the Peruvian Government respect the right to defense, the right to free exercise of the legal profession, respect for due process, for the Political Constitution of Peru, respect for the Pact of San Jose and other international treaties on Human Rights....”
The detentions have been denounced by legal organizations in Peru and elsewhere, including the Lima Bar Association, the Association for Human Rights (APRODEH) in Peru, and the Mexican and US sections of the American Association of Jurists. In April, the National Lawyers Guild passed a resolution that denounced the political persecution of these lawyers and committed their organization to legal assistance in the international battle to free these lawyers. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions has been asked to review these cases; other international human and legal rights organizations are also being approached.
This latest offensive against the lawyers must be challenged by strong international outcry. The IEC-US is calling for a campaign of letters to be sent to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and others to expose and denounce these arrests. If you can take part in this campaign, either by writing your own letter or by helping to mobilize groups or organizations to do so, please call or write the IEC-US.
PLEASE NOTE: Public letters to protest these attacks, and to express support for the lawyers, must be sent to specific authorities and must contain some specific information. Please call, fax, or write to us for more information about these details, and for news of the latest developments in these cases, before you send your letters.
IEC-US
PMB #195
3288 21st Street
San Francisco CA 94110
phone 415-252-5786
fax 415-252-7414
