Peru's President Signs Military Crimes Amnesty Bill Into Law
"Today, with the enactment of this amnesty law, the government is paying tribute to the military and self-defense groups that participated in the fight against terrorism," Boluarte said during a ceremony at the presidential palace.
The law benefits uniformed personnel on trial but not yet convicted of crimes committed during fighting between state forces and the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel groups, in which 70,000 people were killed, according to official data.
About 20,000 people remain listed as "disappeared."
It also provides for the release of anyone convicted who is now over the age of 70.
"This law is quite simply a betrayal of Peruvian victims," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
"It undermines decades of efforts to ensure accountability for atrocities and weakens the country's rule of law even further."
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) had said Peru must "immediately suspend" approval of the law or -- if it was enacted -- refrain from applying it while the court looks into how the amnesty would affect victims' rights.
A report by UN experts last month urged Boluarte's government to veto the law, arguing Peru "has a duty to investigate, prosecute and punish gross human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during the conflict."
The new law could affect 156 cases that have been decided and more than 600 others still underway over crimes committed during that 20-year span, those experts said.
Boluarte -- whose approval rating is at an all-time low and whose term ends in July 2026 -- has rejected all criticism of the amnesty.
In August 2024, Peru adopted a statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002, effectively shutting down hundreds of investigations into alleged crimes committed during the fighting.
The initiative benefited late president Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed for atrocities -- including the massacre of civilians by the army -- but released from prison in 2023 on humanitarian grounds. He died in September 2024.
It also helped 600 prosecuted military personnel.
According to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there are more than 4,000 clandestine graves in the country as a result of two decades of political violence.
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Int'l Business Times
3 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Peru's President Signs Military Crimes Amnesty Bill Into Law
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Wednesday signed into law a controversial bill granting amnesty to military personnel, police and members of civilian self-defense units over a bloody 1980-2000 campaign against leftist Shining Path guerrillas. "Today, with the enactment of this amnesty law, the government is paying tribute to the military and self-defense groups that participated in the fight against terrorism," Boluarte said during a ceremony at the presidential palace. The law benefits uniformed personnel on trial but not yet convicted of crimes committed during fighting between state forces and the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel groups, in which 70,000 people were killed, according to official data. About 20,000 people remain listed as "disappeared." It also provides for the release of anyone convicted who is now over the age of 70. "This law is quite simply a betrayal of Peruvian victims," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "It undermines decades of efforts to ensure accountability for atrocities and weakens the country's rule of law even further." The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) had said Peru must "immediately suspend" approval of the law or -- if it was enacted -- refrain from applying it while the court looks into how the amnesty would affect victims' rights. A report by UN experts last month urged Boluarte's government to veto the law, arguing Peru "has a duty to investigate, prosecute and punish gross human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during the conflict." The new law could affect 156 cases that have been decided and more than 600 others still underway over crimes committed during that 20-year span, those experts said. Boluarte -- whose approval rating is at an all-time low and whose term ends in July 2026 -- has rejected all criticism of the amnesty. In August 2024, Peru adopted a statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002, effectively shutting down hundreds of investigations into alleged crimes committed during the fighting. The initiative benefited late president Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed for atrocities -- including the massacre of civilians by the army -- but released from prison in 2023 on humanitarian grounds. He died in September 2024. It also helped 600 prosecuted military personnel. According to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there are more than 4,000 clandestine graves in the country as a result of two decades of political violence.
Int'l Business Times
01-08-2025
- Int'l Business Times
US Envoy Visits Gaza Sites As UN Says Hundreds Of Aid-seekers Killed
President Donald Trump's special envoy inspected a US-backed food distribution centre in war-torn Gaza on Friday, as the UN rights office reported that Israeli forces had killed hundreds of hungry Palestinians waiting for aid. The visit by Steve Witkoff came as a report from global advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) also accused Israeli forces of presiding over "regular bloodbaths" close to the US-backed aid points. The UN's rights office in the Palestinian territories said at least 1,373 people had been killed seeking aid in Gaza since May 27 -- 105 of them in the last two days of July. "Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military," the UN office said, breaking down the death toll into 859 killed near the US-backed food sites and 514 along routes used by UN and aid agency convoys. 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GHF largely sidelined the longstanding UN-led humanitarian system just as Israel was beginning to ease a more than two-month aid blockade that exacerbated existing shortages of food and other essentials. In its report on the GHF centres on Friday, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli military of illegally using starvation as a weapon of war. "Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families," said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. "US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths." Responding to the report, the military said GHF worked independently, but that Israeli soldiers operated "in proximity to the new distribution areas in order to enable the orderly delivery of food". It accused Hamas of trying to prevent food distribution and said that it was conducting a review of the reported deaths, adding it worked to "minimise, as much as possible, any friction between the civilian population" and its forces. After arriving in Israel on Thursday, Witkoff held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to resolve the almost 22-month-old war, feed desperate civilians and free the remaining hostages held by Palestinian militants. Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and free the captives, but is under international pressure to end the bloodshed that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and threatened many more with famine. Following his discussions with Witkoff, Netanyahu met Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, another staunch Israeli ally, who nonetheless delivered a blunt message. "The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination," Wadephul told reporters after the meeting, urging the government "to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality". "I have the impression that this has been understood today," he added. On Thursday, the armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad released a video showing German-Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, 21, watching recent news footage of the crisis in Gaza and pleading with the Israeli government to secure his release. "Even the strongest person has a breaking point," his family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel. "Rom is an example of all the hostages. They must all be brought home now." On Friday, Wadephul also met relatives of hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. According to the German foreign office, among the 49 hostages still held, a "single-digit" number are German-Israeli dual nationals "Germany continues to do everything in our power to achieve the release of the hostages," Wadephul said, expressing outrage at the video release. This "horrible" footage reveals "once again the utter depravity of the kidnappers", he added. The Hamas-led October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 declared dead by the Israeli military. The retaliatory Israeli offensive has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen here as a caricature at a protest in Tel Aviv, is under mounting domestic and international political pressure AFP
DW
24-07-2025
- DW
India's illegal expulsions to Bangladesh target Muslims: HRW – DW – 07/24/2025
A new Human Rights Watch report has found that hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims in India have been forced into neighboring Bangladesh. They told HRW that they feared for their lives if they did not comply. Indian authorities have unlawfully forced hundreds of Bengali-speeking Muslims intoBangladesh, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its latest report on Thursday, accusing the Hindu-nationalist government of targeting Muslims for political gains. At least 1,500 Muslim men, women and children were expelled across the border — some of whom were beaten up and their Indian identity papers destroyed — between May 7 and June 15, HRW said, citing Bangladeshi authorities. India's government has not released any statistics on how many people it has deported to Bangladesh as illegal immigrants. "India's ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is fuelling discrimination by arbitrarily expelling Bengali Muslims from the country, including Indian citizens," Elaine Pearson, Asia director at the NGO, said. "The Indian government is putting thousands of vulnerable people at risk in apparent pursuit of unauthorized immigrants, but their actions reflect broader discriminatory policies against Muslims," she said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has long taken a strong stance against irregular migration. In public speeches around elections, he has often focused on immigrants from Bangladesh, calling them "infiltrators." The Ministry of Home Affairs gave states a 30-day deadline to round up undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants in May, soon after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in which Islamic extremists targeted Hindu tourists. New Delhi claims all explusions were conducted to reverse irregular migration. The report slammed the rushed operations, saying the government's reason was "unconvincing" as it disregarded "due process rights, domestic guarantees, and international human rights standards". "The government is undercutting India's long history of providing refuge to the persecuted as it tries to generate political support," Pearson said. In May, Indian media reported that authorities forcibly detained some 40 Rohingya refugees and dropped them into international waters using navy ships. While the Supreme Court has called it a "beautifully crafted story," the Modi government is yet to publically deny the allegations. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video New York-based HRW said that while some of those deported were Bangladeshi citizens, many Indian nationals who are Bengali-speaking Muslims from states neighboring Bangladesh. This was possible because authorities carried out swift deportations without due process which includes verifying the person's citizenship before expulsion, the report said. Of those expelled, 300 people come from the eastern state of Assam, which imposed a contentious citizenship verification process. Others were Bengali-speaking Muslims who had migrated from the eastern state of West Bengal to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odish and Delhi in search of work. The targeting of Bengali-speaking Muslims is characteristic of the Hindu-nationalist movement in India led by Modi's BJP and related fringe groups. The issue of Bangladeshi immigrantion is likely to take center stage in West Bengal— one of the few states that the BJP has failed to win — where elections are due in 2026. HRW said it interviewed over a dozen affected people and their families, including those who were returned to India after being expelled to Bangladesh. Nazimuddin Sheikh, a migrant worker from West Bengal who had been in India's financial capital Mumbai for five years, said the police raided his home, tore up his identity documents proving his Indian citizenship and flew him along with over 100 others to the Bangladesh border. "If we spoke too much, they beat us. They hit me with sticks on my back and hands. They were beating us and telling us to say we are Bangladeshi," he said. Another worker from Assam recalled his ordeal. "I walked into Bangladesh like a dead body. I thought they would kill me because they were holding guns and no one from my family would know."
