Peruvian Court Condemns Soldiers Who Committed Crimes Against Humanity
Some of the victims of sexual violence perpetrated in the communities of Manta and Vilca, Photo: X/ @elfoco_pe
June 20, 2024 Hour: 10:49 am
In the 1980s, the military raped Indigenous women in the communities of Manta and Vilca.
On Thursday, the First Transitory Superior Criminal Chamber issued a conviction against ten former Peruvian soldiers who raped Indigenous women in Huancavelica between 1984 and 1995.
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This crime occurred during the internal armed conflict and constitutes a crime against humanity. Seven of the accused received ten-year prison sentences, another was sentenced to 12 years in prison, another to eight years, and one more to six years in prison.
The Criminal Chamber indicated that the sentences will be enforced once the convicted individuals are brought before the judicial authority, as none of them attended the audience.
The “Manta and Vilca” case was classified by the Peruvian justice as a “crime against humanity,” and the convicted individuals were ordered to pay civil reparations of about US$26,200 to each of the victims.
According to the Justice Ministry’s Registry of Victims, over 5,300 women were victims of sexual abuse during the internal armed conflict in Peru between 1980 and 2000.
Members of the Peruvian army settled in the community of Manta, in the Huancavelica district, in 1984 to take control of the area. Shortly after, the population began reporting rapes of Indigenous women. Among the victims were underage girls.
In 2023, reports of sexual abuse at the military bases of Manta and Vilca were included in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR), which allowed the Huancavelica Prosecutor’s Office to initiate preliminary investigations. In 2009, a criminal process was opened, which was closed in 2018 due to irregularities committed by the court.
In 2019, however, authorities opened a second trial that culminated in the sentence issued this week, which represents a historic conviction in the fight against crimes against humanity, according to the National Coordinator for Human Rights (CNDDHH).
Source: EFE
teleSUR/ JF
