Peruvian Prosecutor Opens New Cases of Deaths and Injuries During Protests in 2022 and 2023
Images of the protests during 2022-2023 July 2024 Photo: @PeruMachete
July 11, 2024 Hour: 6:33 pm
The Special Team of Prosecutors for Victims during the protests specified that the investigations against the police and military personnel involved respond to the deaths and injuries of demonstrators in the context of “serious human rights violations”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office reported on Thursday that 18 preparatory investigations have been formally launched against 154 members of the Peruvian National Police and Army for the deaths and injuries of 267 people during the anti-government protests that occurred between December 2022 and March 2023.
RELATED:
State of Emergency Declared in Region Preparing for Anti-Government Protests in Peru
The Special Team of Prosecutors for Victims during the protests specified that the investigations against the police and military personnel involved respond to the deaths and injuries of demonstrators in the context of “serious human rights violations”, after the dismissal of former president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) and the assumption of the current president Dina Boluarte.
According to preliminary information to date, 49 people died in direct clashes with the security forces, in addition to about 20 deaths due to events linked to the protests of those dates.
The Office of the Prosecutor specified, in a press release, that the fiscal team in the Ayacucho region formalized an investigation against 27 members of the Army linked to the acts of violence recorded outside the airport of the city of Huamanga, 15 and 16 December 2022, which left “55 aggrieved persons”.
Special Team of Prosecutors for cases with victims during social protests formalized 18 investigations against members of the Army and PNP for deaths and injuries recorded during protests from December 2022 to March 2023 in the country.
Among the accused are the general commander of the Second Military Infantry Brigade of Ayacucho, Jesús Vera; the lieutenant colonel of the Army Jimmy Vengoa; Colonel Carlos Vega; and the chief of the Police Macroregion of Ayacucho, Antero Mejía; among others.
Also, in the Puno region, bordering Bolivia, the Prosecutor’s Office opened three investigations against 24 police officers as alleged co-authors of the crime against life, body and health, due to the deaths of Salomón Valenzuela and Sonia Aguilar during the protest in Macusani, occurred on January 18, 2023.
In addition, 19 members of the Army and Police are under investigation for the deaths of 18 people and 108 injured in the vicinity of the Inca Manco Cápac airport, as well as three other police officers for the events recorded in the town of San Román, in the city of Juliaca.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office also opened two investigations in Cuzco, one against 20 police officers and another against two other officers, for acts of violence on Avenida 28 de Julio on January 11, 2023, which left “30 citizens injured”.
For its part, in Apurímac, the prosecution team formalized two investigations, one against 15 police officers for the confrontation that occurred on February 9, 2023 at kilometer 270 and 272 of the Nazca-Cuzco highway, in the province of Aymaraes, and the other against six police officers.
In Lima, four investigations were opened against 12 police officers, which involved the death of Víctor Santisteban on January 28, 2023, the injuries of three people and the acts of violence in the historic center in the demonstrations of December 12, 2022, 4 January and 2 March 2023.
Likewise, in the fiscal district of Selva Central, the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation against the head of the VI Macro Police Region of Junín, Gregorio Villalón; the head of the Police Division of Chanchamayo, César Chávez, and the commissioner of Pichanaqui, Jonny Vargas as alleged perpetrators for omission of the crimes of aggravated homicide of a minor of 17 years, Diego Galindo and Ronaldo Barra.
In the Ucayali jungle, the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation against the former head of the Special Units Directorate (DUE) of the Pucallpa National Police, Manuel Barreto, and the former head of the Police Special Operations Department 2, Juan Pablo Tardío, as authors of the commission for omission of the alleged crimes of serious injury, minor injury and abuse of authority against eight people on December 17, 2022 in the district of Huipoca, in the province of Padre Abad.
In Arequipa, three investigations were opened for the injuries of 13 people and the death of Miguel Arcana on December 12, 2022 in the district of Cerro Colorado, for which the commissioner of Municipal City, Marvin Vergaray, and non-commissioned officer Paúl Qquenta is implicated.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office’s investigations also include two police officers from the La Libertad region for the deaths of two people and injuries to three others in the demonstrations held in the Chao district in January 2023.
Autor: CC
Fuente: EFE
