In a ruling on 20th July the Supreme Court reduced the prison sentences of former spy-chief Vladimiro Montesinos and a number of other high ranking human rights violators.

The defendants were all originally convicted in October 2010 for their involvement in the Colina Group, a death squad operational under the government of Alberto Fujimori (1990 – 2000). They were each sentenced to 15 to 25 years imprisonment for participating in the massacre of 15 people (including an 8-year old child) at Barrios Altos in 1991, and in the forced ‘disappearance’ of a Pedro Yauri, a prominent journalist, and nine peasant leaders in Santa in 1992. The group subsequently launched an appeal against the sentences.

This month Supreme Court Judge Javier Villa Stein ruled in the defendants’ favour on a number of counts. The most controversial element was the court’s decision that the group’s offences constituted ordinary murders, rather than crimes against humanity. To reflect the lesser severity of this charge, Villa Stein reduced the sentences of almost all defendants by up to five years. One of their number, former army intelligence head Alberto Pinto, had his conviction overturned by the court on the grounds that he had only been obeying orders.

In his judgement, Villa Stein stated that the men could not be convicted of crimes against humanity as the prosecutor had not specifically filed this charge against them at the original trial. Human rights advocates point out however, that the Colina Group’s offences had already been determined as such by a 2001 ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The Supreme Court decision was criticised by many leading figures including President Humala, Human Rights Ombudsman Eduardo Vega, and Juan Jiménez, then justice minister. Vice Justice Minister Daniel Figallo later filed an appeal before Peru’s Constitutional Tribunal to overturn the ruling. Local NGOs, who fear the ruling may boost efforts to obtain a pardon for Fujimori, also plan to file a petition with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to quash the verdict.

For further detail on the case and its implications please see the Washington Office on Latin America blog.