LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s government enacted a law Friday that prevents prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002, a decision that favors the former president Alberto Fujimori as well as hundreds of military personnel investigated or prosecuted for massacres and murders during the country’s internal armed conflict (1980-2000).
The law, which had no comments President Dina Boluartewas enacted, despite a July order from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the highest regional court in this matter, indicating to Boluarte, Congress and the Judiciary that they should nullify what was then still a bill, because it violated the right international.
The United Nations on Friday denounced the enactment of the bill.
Peru’s new law “violates the country’s obligations under international law and is a worrying development amid a broader backlash against human rights and the rule of law in Peru,” said Volker Türk, human rights chief. of the UN, in a statement.
“Crimes against humanity and war crimes are among the most serious violations of international law and neither amnesties nor statutes of limitations should extend to them,” the statement added. “Those responsible for atrocious crimes must be held accountable in accordance with international law.”
According to an estimate by the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office released in June, the legislation will have a direct impact on 550 victims and 600 cases, including investigations and legal proceedings that would otherwise be archived or archived due to prescription.
According to experts, the law will especially benefit Fujimori — who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000 and was convicted in 2009 on charges of human rights violations — in an ongoing trial in which prosecutors seek to sentence him to 25 years for the murder of six peasants in 1992.
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