Peru-Absolution By Decree

Absolution By Decree Peru The Peruvian government enacted a new law over the weekend that would bar the prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002, a move that would benefit a convicted former president and other military officials accused of abuses committed during Peru’s internal armed conflict between 1980 and 2000, the Associated Press reported. Peruvian lawmakers passed the bill last month, prompting criticism from human rights organizations that it would thwart ongoing investigations over the massacres perpetrated during the conflict that killed around 69,000 people, while 21,000 others disappeared. Observers explained that the legislation would impact around 550 victims and 600 cases, including probes and judicial processes that would be archived or dismissed by statutes of limitations. One of the key beneficiaries of the law is former President Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru between 1990 and 2000. Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 on charges of human rights abuses over the killing of 25 people, including a child, by army death squads between 1991 and 1992. At the time, the government described the murders as part of an anti-terrorist operation. The 85-year-old former leader is also facing trial over the killing by soldiers of six farmers in a separate case from 1992. The bill’s passing prompted the Inter-American Court of Human Rights – the highest regional court in this matter – to order Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, congress and the judiciary to annul the draft law because it violates international law. Despite the court’s order, the bill was passed Friday – although it did not receive any comments from Boluarte. The United Nations criticized the government’s move, saying the legislation “contravenes the country’s obligations under international law and is a troubling development, amid a broader backlash against human rights and the rule of law in Peru,” Agence France-Presse added.