Imagen: France 24

March 31, 2022

Judges and Magistrates

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Costa Rica

Topic: Barrios Altos and La Cantuta cases – Supervision of compliance with sentences.

Honorable Magistrates,

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, write to urge the Inter-American Court of Human Rights – IACHR Court to annul Ruling 78/2022 of the Constitutional Court of Peru, which reinstates the effects of Supreme Resolution 281-2017-JUS through which the pardon and release of Alberto Fujimori was accepted.

Until now, Fujimori was serving his 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity, as the perpetrator of the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres, in which 25 people were killed and 5 wounded, and the kidnapping of journalist Gustavo Gorriti and businessman Samuel Dyer. In addition, there are 4 other sentences of between 6 and 8 years each for different crimes of fraudulent embezzlement, corruption and usurpation of functions.

This series of crimes took place during a period of great political instability in the country, within the framework of Fujimori’s self-coup d’état (1992-2000), under which serious human rights violations were committed, through crimes such as kidnappings, forced sterilizations and extrajudicial executions.

We recall that, in 2018, the IACHR Court issued a resolution in the supervision of compliance with the sentence of the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta cases, in which it points out that the execution of the sentence is part of the right of victims to access to justice, since the benefits can lead to impunity. However, the Court pointed out that if prison aggravates the health situation of the convicted person, putting his or her integrity at risk, the possibility of pardon should be weighed, but always following certain standards. These standards include the serving of a considerable part of the sentence and the payment of the civil reparations imposed; the rehabilitation of the convicted person and his or her recognition of the gravity of the crimes committed; the participation and conduct of the convicted person in the process of clarifying the truth; and the effects of the pardon and subsequent early release on the victims, their families and at the social level.

These standards have not been analyzed in Ruling 78/2022 of the Constitutional Court, disrespecting the resolution of the IACHR Court and its interpretations of the American Convention, as well as the principles of international law or ius cogens.

Therefore, we ask the IACHR Court to reaffirm these elements that should guide any request for pardon, and also to annul the resolution of the Peruvian Constitutional Court that allows the pardon of Alberto Fujimori without taking these standards into account. This decision should be made by the Inter-American Court itself, avoiding a resolution that would force the victims and their families to appeal through the domestic justice system, unnecessarily prolonging their struggle for full access to justice.

It is important to note that regional practice prohibits pardons in cases of serious human rights violations, in accordance with the principle of proportionality in the setting of sentences and their execution.

Sincerely,

Sign:

Federación Internacional por los Derechos humanos – FIDH.

Acción Ecológica – Ecuador

Centro de Capacitación Social – CCS – Panamá

Centro de Derechos y Desarrollo – CEDAL- Perú

Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales – CELS – Argentina

Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos – CIPRODEH – Honduras

Centro de Políticas Públicas y Derechos Humanos- Perú EQUIDAD

Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos – CALDH – Guatemala

Center for Justice and Accountability – CJA – USA

Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos – CENIDH – Nicaragua

Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo – CAJAR – Colombia

Comisión de Derechos Humanos de El Salvador – CDHES – El Salvador

Comisión Ecuménica de Derechos Humanos – CEDHU – Ecuador

Comisión Mexicana de Defensa y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos – CMDPDH – México

Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos – CNDH- República Dominicana

Comité de Acción Jurídica – CAJ – Argentina

Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras – COFADEH – Honduras

Corporación de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo – CODEPU – Chile

Fundación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos – INREDH – Ecuador

IDHEAS, Litigio Estratégico en Derechos Humanos A.C – México

Instituto latinoamericano para una sociedad y un derecho alternativos – ILSA- Colombia

Justiça Global – Brasil

Liga Argentina de Derechos Humanos – LADH – Argentina

Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos A.C – Limeddh – Mexico

Movimento Nacional de Direitos Humanos – MNDH Brasil

Observatorio Ciudadano – Chile

Programa Venezolano de Educación-Acción en Derechos Humanos – Provea – Venezuela.