PERU
Lori Berenson brutally moved to mountain dungeon
By Heather Cottin
At 3:15 a.m. on Dec. 27, while Lori Berenson and 17 other
prisoners were sleeping in Yanamayo Prison in Lima, Peru, more
than 30 police reportedly stormed their cellblock. The
prisoners report that the cops in gas masks wielded clubs and
filled the corridor and individual cells with tear gas.
The gas overcame Berenson. She described being brutally
manhandled and forcefully removed from her cell. She was
carried away wearing only her sleeping clothes: tee shirt and
shorts. She was forced to leave behind all of her possessions
including her eyeglasses, medicines and shoes.
Other women in the cellblock describe being gassed, beaten
and threatened with rape.
Berenson was moved to a remote prison in Cajamarca, 8,900
feet high in the Andes.
Her father, Mark Berenson, responding to a query from
Workers World, wrote, "Witnesses who visited the prison on
Saturday observed the bruises from the beatings of the other
... women and visited Lori's cell where they saw a used tear
gas canister...." He added that the cells still smelled of tear
gas more than 30 hours after the attack.
In addition to the unprovoked brutality against Berenson,
the government once again denied her due process. Officials
claim she was transferred for disciplinary reasons. But
Peruvian law requires that the prisoner be informed of any
infractions and be permitted to respond in defense. This was
not done.
On Dec. 29, Berenson filed a "denuncia" against the Peruvian
Justice Minister and officials of the Peruvian penal system for
abuse of authority and injury. Her attorney, José
Luís Sandoval, said she was beaten and sprayed with tear
gas by the police when she and another prisoner were taken from
their cells last Friday. He also said Berenson had been
sexually abused by a police officer.
Political prisoner--
U.S. holds the key
Mark Berenson, continuing his campaign to free his daughter,
said, "She was moved for political reasons."
Lori Berenson has been in prison since being arrested in
January 1996. She was one of 23 people convicted on charges of
"lawless treason" for supporting the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement--MRTA. The group waged a long struggle against U.S.
domination of the Andean nation and its 22 million people.
Supporters argue that Berenson was convicted because she
opposed the brutal policies of Alberto Fujimori, the dictator
who came to power in 1990. His Draconian policies resulted in
the imprisonment and torture of more than 5,000 Peruvians.
The number of Peruvians living in poverty doubled after
1990. Five years ago, more than half of Peru's 24 million
people were living in poverty, 85 percent of the work force did
not have full-time jobs and 93 percent of children did not have
access to schoolbooks. (International Herald Tribune, May 22,
1996)
An estimated 36,000 children die every year before they
reach their fifth birthday due to starvation or preventable
disease. About seven million people don't have clean drinking
water and 12 million are without sanitation. (1996 Human
Development Report)
Fujimori is no longer in charge in Peru, but his supporters
still yield much influence within the judiciary, military,
police and penal systems. And without Washington's tacit
support, Lori Berenson would not still be behind bars or have
been so brutally moved to another prison.
The U.S. government provides funds and military advisers to
"develop" Peru for the profits of U.S. banks and
corporations.
Reprinted from the Jan. 10, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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