On Sunday, lawyers to the family of Carlos Huaman, a 26-year-old Peruvian killed in anti-government protests in Viru province on Dec. 14, 2022, urged the authorities to investigate this crime as an aggravated homicide.
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"The Prosecution’s Office stipulated the case as a simple homicide. However, since the necropsy certificate indicated that Huaman was shot at point-blank range, we believe that is an aggravated homicide case," lawyer Roxana Villalobos stated.
She asked the Prosecutor’s Office for an expert report on the case. However, this institution has not issued her any documentation on it yet. "I ask publicly that they please send it to me so that I can fully study the case," the lawyer pointed out.
Huaman, a resident of Bagua city, had gone out for dinner with some cousins when he encountered a clash between Police agents and protesters who demanded the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.
"My husband and his cousins found themselves in the middle of the clash. Although they tried to avoid the bullets, Huaman was hit by one in the back," the widow Lady Campos lamented.
"Huaman was young. He had his whole life ahead of him. We ask the prosecution to investigate this case as soon as possible. We know how the crime happened, but we want to know who the perpetrators were," Villalobos stated.
Since Dec. 2022, Peruvian security forces have killed about 60 people and injured over 1,298 citizens in anti-government protests. Most of the murders occurred in the south and southwestern Peru, where Indigenous peoples and farmers live.
The Boluarte administration denied the abuses committed by security forces, whose actions she claimed were not driven by racism. Despite the threats posed by Police violence, citizens resumed mobilizations on Monday.