LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Peruvian government passed a law on Friday that prevents the prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002, a decision that favors the former president Alberto Fujimori and hundreds of military personnel investigated or prosecuted for massacres and killings during the country’s internal armed conflict (1980-2000).
The law, which received no comment from Chairwoman Dina Boluartewas announced despite a July ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the highest regional court in the case, which ordered Boluarte, Congress and the judiciary to quash the bill, then still a bill, because it violated international law.
The United Nations on Friday condemned the introduction of the bill.
Peru’s new law “violates the country’s obligations under international law and is a disturbing development amid a broader backlash against human rights and the rule of law in Peru,” Volker Türk, head of the UN human rights body, said in a statement.
“Crimes against humanity and war crimes are among the most serious violations of international law and neither amnesty nor statutes of limitations should apply to them,” the statement added. “Those responsible for atrocities must be held accountable in accordance with international law.”
According to an estimate by the Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office published in June, the legislation will directly affect 550 victims and 600 cases, including investigations and legal proceedings that would be archived or dismissed due to a statute of limitations.
According to experts, the law will mainly benefit Fujimori, who ruled Peru from 1990 to 2000 and was convicted in 2009 on charges of human rights abuses – in an ongoing trial in which prosecutors are seeking to sentence him to 25 years in prison for the 1992 murder of six farmers.
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