Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2005 - Peru

Continued threats against Professor Segundo Jara Montejo²¹⁵

At dawn on 20 December 2004, on the Prosecutor's orders, 12 members of the Aucayacu national police, Tingo María province, Huánaco region, had entered the home of Professor Segundo Jara Montejo, president of the Alta Huallaga Human Rights Committee (Comité de Derechos Humanos del Alto Huallaga – CODAH) and executive director of the Alto Huallaga Human Rights Commission (Comisión de Derechos Humanos Alto Huallaga – CODHAH) in Aucayacu. They claimed to have found in the surrounding area subversive pamphlets and red fabric, supposedly indicating the presence of communist activities. Nothing compromising had been found.

On 4 February 2005, Mrs. Rosalía Storck, coordinator of the Northeast regional headquarters of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Comisión de la Verdad y la Reconciliación – CVR), received a message on her mobile phone, threatening Mr. Segundo Jara Montejo with death.

These events coincided with the opening of judicial proceedings, instigated by several human rights defence organisations, on human rights violations that took place in Peru between 1980 and 2000, a period known as "the era of violence". These proceedings were the result of the work of CVR, which was created in order to determine the circumstances surrounding human rights violations committed by the Peruvian State and by armed opposition groups during this period. CVR report had been published in August 2003.

Threats and harassment against Mrs. Cristina del Pilar Olazábal, Mrs. Gloria Cano Legua, Mr. Francisco Soberón and Mr. Alejandro Silva²¹⁶

Mrs. Cristina del Pilar Olazábal, Prosecutor in charge of the human rights violations committed between 1980 and 2000 in the region of Ayacucho and revealed by CVR, was threatened and severely criticised by representatives of the Aprista Peruano Party – American Revolutionary Popular Alliance (Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana – APRA). These threats followed the complaints for genocide and assassinations lodged against Mr. Alan García, party leader and former President of Peru, and other members of the military, due to their alleged responsibility for the massacre of Accomarca on 14 August 1985.²¹⁷

On 7 February 2005, in an interview for Radio Melody published in the Correo de Ayacucho newspaper, former senator Mr. David Sifuentes accused Mrs. Cristina del Pilar Olazábal and Mrs. Gloria Cano Legua, a lawyer and head of the legal department of the Association for Human Rights (Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos – APRODEH) in Lima, of "using the law and the rule of law like bandits use grenades", and stated that they had "their minds disturbed and their souls ill".

On 1 March 2005, a complaint was lodged against Mrs. Olazábal, Mrs. Gloria Cano and Mr. Francisco Soberón, a member of APRODEH and executive secretary of the National Coordination of Human Rights (Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos – CNDDHH), by Mr. Fernando Olivera, former Justice Minister, and Mr. Julio Quintanilla, Prosecutor in another case that implicated Mr. Alan García in the 1986 El Frontón massacre. They were accused of "illicit association aimed at breaking the law" and of taking part in a conspiracy aimed at preventing Mr. Alan García from standing as a candidate in the 2006 presidential elections.

Moreover, on 1 April 2005, Mr. Francisco Soberón received an anonymous, hostile e-mail referring to "Colina Futura", a group that executed opponents of the 1990s regime. Another threatening e-mail from the same sender had been received by APRODEH in 2003.

On 3 November 2005, the Ecumenical Foundation for Development and Peace (Fundación Ecuménica para el Desarrollo y la Paz – FEDEPAZ), a CNDDHH member organisation, received an anonymous phone call threatening Mr. Francisco Soberón and Mr. Alejandro Silva, CNDDHH deputy executive secretary, if they did not stop delivering press statements. These events occurred after the presentation by CNDDHH, on 17 October 2005, in Washington (U.S.), of a report on the existence of threats against human rights defenders, witnesses, victims, victims' relatives, judges and Peruvian Prosecutors, because of their involvement in inquiries into the crimes and human rights violations committed in Peru over the past two decades.

Mrs. Cristina del Pilar Olazábal was also subjected to several dismissal attempts. On 13 April 2005, a senior official in the Ayacucho Public Ministry thus recommended that Mrs. Olazábal be dismissed because of a complaint lodged by Mr. García's lawyer. On 27 May 2005, Mr. Rigoberto Parra, head of the Prosecutor's office, presented a formal administrative request for dismissal. Mrs. Nelly Calderón, Peru's National Prosecutor, was to make a decision on the dismissal of Mrs. Olazábal.

Mrs. Olazábal filed a complaint with the Prosecutor's office (Ica region). Mr. Soberón and Mrs. Cano filed their complaint with the Prosecutor's office in Lima.

Death threats and judicial proceedings against CVR members²¹⁸

On 13 and 18 August 2005, Mr. Salomón Lerner Febres, former president of CVR and president of the Union of Latin American Universities and the Catholic University of Peru's Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (Instituto de Democracia y Derechos Humanos de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú), received anonymous insulting emails. On 8 September 2005, while Mr. Lerner was abroad, his secretary received a phone call threatening him with death.

Mr. Lerner, along with 12 former members of CVR, including Mrs. Sofía Macher and Mr. Carlos Ivan Degregori, had already received insulting e-mails in which they were accused of attacking the Peruvian Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Peruanas). The messages received by Mr. Lerner, who is of Jewish origins, were also anti-Semitic and signed by an unknown group which called itself "Pachacútec".

On 5 October 2005, two former CVR commissioners received intimidating and slanderous e-mails. Some of these messages where also directed at former commissioner Mr. Carlos Tapia.

A complaint was lodged against Mr. Lerner and the former CVR members by retired generals José Valdivia and Wilfredo Mori, and colonels Carlos Medina, Nelson Gonzáles, Emilio Murgueytio, Wilfredo Guadalupe, Manuel Delgado and Carlos Sánchez, all mentioned in the report of CVR as perpetrators of human rights violations. The former CVR members were accused of "false publication".

In 2005, nine complaints were lodged before the General Prosecutor against the twelve former CVR commissioners in order to intimidate and paralyse the ongoing trials for human rights violations.

Harassment and threats against human rights defenders²¹⁹

– In January 2005, Mrs. Carmen Canales, coordinator of the Huánuco Concentration Panel for the Fight Against Poverty (Mesa de Concentración para la Lucha Contra la Pobreza – LMCLCP), a decision-making forum for State institutions, local governments, civil society, churches and international organisations, was threatened by e-mail.

– On 13 January 2005, Mr. Miguel Córdova Hurtado, a priest of the Aucayacu parish in Huánuco, received death threats by phone, the perpetrators giving him 24 hours to leave the town.

– On 30 March 2005, the board members of the human rights organisation Peace and Hope (Paz y Esperanza) in the Lima region, a civil association promoting justice and development in favour of the poor people, received an anonymous threatening phone call.

– In March 2005, several unknown individuals attempted to break into the headquarters of the Association for Life and Human Dignity (Asociación por la Vida y la Dignidad Humana – APORVIDHA-Cuzco), a CNDDHH member organisation.

– In March 2005, Mr. Marco Degen Dublín, a priest in the Arapa district (Azángaro-Puno), and the workers at the Centre for Human Development – Puno (Centro de Desarrollo Humano-Puno) were threatened, intimidated and slandered by anonymous e-mails, phone calls and pamphlets.

– In March 2005, the employees of the Vicar of Juli, Ilave locality, along with the friars accompanying the employees of the Vicar of Juno, were intimidated and threatened. Mr. Cristóbal Yugra Villanueva, a human rights defender in Puno, also received threats, thought to be from relatives and supporters of the former mayor.

– In April 2005, the members of the NGO Peace and Hope in the San Martín region (Paz y Esperanza) received messages indirectly threatening and slandering them.

– On 18 May 2005, members of the Social Commission for Pastoral Prelacy (Comisión Prelatural de Pastoral Social – COPREPAS) in Sanchez Carrión, Huamachuco, Libertad region, were harassed.

– In June 2005, Mrs. Genara Prado Agreda, a member of the Committee for Human Rights Defence (Comité de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos – CODEH) in Sánchez Carrión, a CNDDHH member organisation in Libertad region, and priest Mario Vidori, member of Sanagoran parish and of COPREPAS Huamachuco-La Libertad, were repeatedly harassed.

– On 23 June, lawyers of the Vicar of Ayaviri – Puno, in Ituata-Carabaya-Puno, were threatened.

– On 2 July 2005, Mrs. Paula Chui, a lay member of the Crucero parish in the Carabaya-Puno region, was threatened and harassed.

– On 10 and 11 August 2005, Mr. Willy Ruiz, a Peace and Hope member in Lima, received two threatening anonymous phone calls at his home.

– On 6 September 2005, the members of the Commission of Human Rights (Comisión de Derechos Humanos – COMISEDH) in Ayacucho were intimidated, after finding a lock of hair on the handle of the entrance to their offices. On the same day, Mrs. Vivian Gala, Carla Reyes and Gisella Astocondor, human rights lawyers for COMISEDH in Chincha, who were defending Mr. Pablo Sánchez, tortured by a police officer, were slandered and harassed.

– On 13 September 2005, three armed individuals broke into the COMISEDH headquarters in Jesús María district in Lima. They cut communication lines, burgled the premises and searched the offices of the Commission. The burglars also threatened to kill the guard. At dawn on 14 September 2005, there was another attempted burglary at the COMISEDH offices in Ayacucho.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

215. See Annual Report 2004 and Urgent Appeal PER 003/1105/OBS 106.

216. See Urgent Appeals PER 001/0205/OBS 015 and 015.1 and PER 003/1105/OBS 106.

217. 62 peasants were assassinated during the massacre led by the military member Mr. Telmo Ricardo Hurtado.

218. See Urgent Appeals PER 002/1005/OBS 093 and PER 003/1105/OBS 106.

219. See Urgent Appeal PER 003/1105/OBS 106 and CNDDHH Report, Amenazas y Acciones contra Defensores de Derechos Humanos, Testigos, Agraviados y Operadores de Justicia, en el Perú 2005, October 2005.