Petition from Families and Detainees of
the Women's Maximum Security Prison in Chorrillos
September 1998

The following statements were made available by the families of political prisoners to international organizations and lawyers concerned with the unjust criminal justice system in Peru and with the rights of prisoners and their conditions.

Most of the prisoners referred to in these statements were detained under draconian laws designed to imprison anyone suspected of even sympathizing with the insurgency being led by the Communist Party of Peru (often called Shining Path). They are among the more than 5,000 political prisoners in Peru today. Almost all political prisoners in Peru were tried in secret by military and civilian tribunals that used "hooded judges" and gave them absolutely no opportunity to defend themselves against government accusations.

The brutal prison conditions described are intended to break these prisoners down physically and spiritually. In response, they have continued to demonstrate defiance and resistance.

Translated by the CSRP

To:

We, the undersigned [women], basing ourselves on the rights which pertain to us and are inherent to all civilized societies, under the guardianship of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of the International Treaty of San Jose, Costa Rica on Human Rights, of the Geneva Convention of 1949 in its II Protocol, Art. 3, Sec. 1 paragraph a and c, the norms based on the International Penal Law which protect our rights, we come to you assured that we will be heard because you are committed to the defense of Human Rights to DENOUNCE THE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS being perpetrated in a systematic and permanent form perpetrated in Peru against our relatives who find themselves imprisoned, in their condition as thinking and acting human beings, which is unjust and inhumane and who find themselves denied all liberties while imprisoned in a concentration camp-style prison named EPMSM - Chorrillos - Lima (Penal Establishment of Maximum Security for Women) accused and condemned for the alleged crime of terrorism and treason of the fatherland we direct our accusation AGAINST THE PERUVIAN STATE represented by President (Engineer) Alberto Fujimori and his entire governmental apparatus, with its respective representatives, for multiple violations of Human Rights, trying to maintain impunity while further intensifying these violations as they have been carrying them out in all Maximum Security prisons throughout the country, basing ourselves on the following. Violation of the most fundamental nucleus of Human Rights to which all human beings are entitled, as are:
  1. Right to life.
  2. Right not to be discriminated against.
  3. Right to security.
1.) Right to life:

We make the accusation that a systematic treatment is being carried out with the object of extinguishing the life of our relatives individually or in a collective form being carried out in the following ways:

Nutrition - It is provided only once a day (mid-day meal) this leads to the physical deterioration of the person, the minimum consumption of calories for a human being is 2,500 calories daily; however, the daily menu that is consumed is: Breakfast: Quaker=200 cal, 2 slices of bread=200 cal. Lunch: rice=500 cal, potato=100 cal. Lonche (snack) sugar water (mate) 200 cal. Total 1,200 cal. We also want to denounce the application of sedatives to the liquid that is distributed, such as camphor, an element that produces sleepiness and that affects the central nervous system. In order to corroborate these facts we cite:

Health - The penitentiary system in use with our relatives has as its outcome the physical and psychological deterioration of each prisoner.

Physical Damage - The geographic location of the EPMSM with its proximity to the sea and the living conditions of the cells with dimensions of 2.5 by 2.5 [meters] including the space for toilet and drainage for two people, with increased crowding because it is being occupied by three persons, atmosphere reaching 100% humidity, the normal movement of each person is greatly reduced.

Also the construction of a three story building does not meet the necessary conditions for habitability, daylight can penetrate only through apertures, like windows without glass restricting visibility and increasing the intense cold of winter, tight spaces between the blue bars of the cells and sparse illumination. All of these living conditions of our relatives with serious organic problems, such as: bone articulation: arthritis, rheumatism, pain and malformation of the spinal column; bronchial problems: allergies, rhinitis, gastric problems: ulcers, gastritis; Dermatological problems that become chronic: fungi of the skin and hair; gynecological problems: vaginal infections, prolapse of the uterus; vision problems that generate (mydriasis) and consequently damage to the optic nerve, the sparse absorption of the sun's rays also impacts health producing irregularities in the menstrual cycle altering the emotional affective system of our relatives.

With regard to the psychological damage, the entire system of alienation of this enclosed regime of maximum security is oriented to and directed at gnawing slowly at the emotions of the human being, the treatment given our relatives is comparable to the one given to the animals at the zoo. They receive their daily nourishment through an opening at the floor level and within short distance of the toilet, with the only space for movement being one meter squared. The human essence being the sum of social relations whose possibilities are reduced with the number of prisoners allowed to go out to the patio being between 8-12. The usage of objects used by humans in time and space are prohibited- mirror, clock, nail clippers, means of communication).

Intellectual capacity is limited to manual mechanical work, reading material has recently been permitted this year, and specialty books are currently not permitted in. The capability to express your will is totally disallowed not being permitted to decide with whom to live, what to learn in the shops, what to read. The police officials are the ones who determine the days, hours and persons who will be making use of the machinery in the shops, as well as who is going to clean the hallways and who will take part in the reception of the state authorities and the International Red Cross.

The affective and sentimental state of our relatives can be seen altered by not having direct contact with their loved ones. The limited communication until mid-1997 occurred once a month for 30 minutes and presently has been extended up to 2 hours for those in the third stage and those promoted to mid-level security have visitations for an hour through a wire fence in an environment called "locutorio" every weekend, during the visits they see their children or siblings younger than 17; this latest attempt, no longer just against the prisoner's condition but now generating emotional, cognitive and social imbalances in the children, being the younger ones less than 3 years old the most affected, who when in contact with their mothers don't recognize them, all these aspects impact the central nervous system generating upsets in personality, neurosis from anxiety and depression, features of anguish, evasion of reality.

The penitentiary authorities make emergency medical runs to the hospitals, the same ones that they have been postponing indefinitely, which consequently has resulted in the worsening of the conditions. The treatment employed is humiliating and degrading to our relatives, conducted with the hands and feet manacled connected by a chain, an instrument which impedes normal movement and creates lesions in the extremities mentioned, a treatment compared only to that of savage animals.

We also denounce the intrusion of armed police personnel to the external clinics of hospitals and the prior conversations with the attending physicians where they tell them that "this patient is dangerous," which does not allow for an objective medical exam, encouraging the situation that we have explained that goes against the right to medical attention for the prisoners, for that reason we demand a pronouncement on this by the OMS (World Health Organization).

2.) The Right not to be discriminated against:

We denounce the discriminatory treatment given to the prisoners accused of terrorism and treason to the fatherland, employing legislation with characteristics of special type in order to cover up its true political character understanding that our country is in the midst of an armed conflict, not international, and being a constitutional principle the obligation of the state with regard to a penitentiary regimen to rehabilitate or readapt the prisoners, which serves as proof that the objective has been to concentrate large groups of people in a prison where, given the precipitous conditions, with the passage of time they will become physically and psychologically limited or will be eliminated in a new genocide (1984, 1986, 1992).

3.) The Right to security:

We proclaim that there is a violation by the Peruvian state of the constitutional and judicial principles, of guarantees as are: methods of police investigation, the establishment of military tribunals for civilians, the right to defense, public hearings, presumption of innocence, doubt favoring the accused.

With regard to the method of investigation by the police, the use of physical and psychological torture by the police authorities which have as their goal a declaration of self-guilt which will be the fundamental proof in order to dictate a guilty sentence, methods of treatment that are forbidden worldwide based on what every human being deserves. With regard to the military trials they have established summary processes in the military courts that are being given responsibility for trying civilians, a law which has been established only by this governing regime; the process is one with a very short period of reading of charges, totally lacking any judicial guarantees, and in which you cannot offer proof of innocence (witnesses, evidence, etc.) Likewise, the right to defense is almost completely nullified, with the right to challenge the accusations limited only to the civilian courts. This right itself is being violated because the lawyers who take up the defense of "terrorism" and "treason to the fatherland" cases are threatened, telling the police that they are connected to the armed groups with the objective of creating fear. Another situation is that any lawyer who carries out a defense [of these cases] starts to be pursued, harassed, to get them to drop the defense of the persons being investigated or accused of a connection to these crimes.

The presumption of innocence: is supported by penal legislation of International Law and in our constitution by which a person is considered innocent until proven otherwise, at the present time this principle is being applied in reverse and every person from the moment of their detention is being considered guilty. The principle of judicial guarantee of indubio pro reo ["doubt favors the accused"] is not applied in the aforementioned crimes and the tribunals are rendering guilty sentences not on clear proof but based on probabilities.

Likewise we denounce the law called "re-classification" because in practice it only serves to promote discriminatory practices by the authorities in how it regulates the four stages of classification; it generates conduct among the women prisoners leading to harm in trying to be in the stage that allows some "improvements" like direct visits, more hours in the courtyard, access to workshops, etc. In the first and second stages the visits are by voice, without being able to touch our families because there is a one-half meter separation between the two people, and to make it worse, a thick wire fence making it difficult to see the person clearly, besides other difficulties that, convert a visit into a traumatic experience taking a toll on the emotional state of our family members.

Also, in these two stages we are only allowed one hour out in the courtyard and for the remaining 23 hours we remain locked up. The overcrowding is made worse because in our very small cells we have to store our food, clothing, work materials, and other utensils for daily use-- which even more limits our movements.

Whenever they do allow us a direct visit, the conditions imposed consist of mocking the visitor, and mistreatment because they carry out humiliating searches of the visitor's private parts, they determine the time limit according to their whims, so that the supposed favor is in effect turned into a punishment, similarly if something happens during these visits that worries them, they similarly cut off the visit without explanation.

We likewise denounce the fact that in the military courts the sentences that have been imposed range from 30 years of imprisonment to Life Sentences, and as we have said these tribunals besides are summary and they do not allow for any proofs in favor of the accused which is completely illegal since it violates the very constitution of the State and as a result flagrantly tramples on the principles of Human Rights that all people recognize. For this whole situation, which is so inhumane, we ask you to apply forceful measures to the Peruvian State so that:

September 1998

Signed,

Families and Detainees of the Women's Maximum Security Prison in Chorrillos

CSRP Home Page The Revolution Page Our Committee Page Materials Available Page IEC-US Home Page

Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru
PO Box 1246, Berkeley, California 94701
415-252-5786 * Fax: 415-252-7414
www.csrp.org