Lima (EFE) dozens of people died.
Through a resolution published this Monday in the official newspaper El Peruano, the Prosecutor’s Office formed this working group to investigate “cases with victims during social protests, so that it devotes itself exclusively to crimes committed against humanity (…) and the common crimes that have constituted cases of violation of human rights and others”.
The document, signed by the Prosecutor of the Nation (general), Patricia Benavides, recalls that, since the protests began after the failed self-coup by former President Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), “prosecutor investigations have been derived for the alleged commission of crimes resulting from the excessive use of public force that would affect the human right to peaceful social protest.”
Also for acts of violence “that are not included within the protected constitutional core of the right to protest” and that “have affected the physical integrity of officials and servers, as well as the infrastructure of various public entities and private property.”
“Given this, an orderly and swift investigation strategy is required, following the constitutional mandate to prosecute crime,” the resolution reads.
The text adds that the criminal investigations opened in the framework of the protests are characterized by the plurality of agents and victims, the difficulty of obtaining and securing evidence of the commission of the crimes investigated, and the diversity of procedural actions that require unified powers. .
“For these reasons, it is ideal and necessary to form a special team of prosecutors to address criminal cases with victims during social protests, which must have a specialized team of experts and comprehensive care for victims by the special characteristics of this type of research”, he concludes.
A figure of 77 deaths
In four months, the anti-government protests in Peru added a balance of 77 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries, which has led different national and international organizations that defend human rights to denounce the illegitimate use of force by the police forces. of security.
According to the Ombudsman’s Office, 49 protesters died during direct clashes with law enforcement, while a policeman lost his life after being burned alive and another 11 people due to roadblocks by protesters.
Boluarte confirmed another death of a patient who was retained in the blockades, and Unicef the death of an unborn baby, while the Police reported the death of a woman in the northern region of La Libertad.
The Prime Minister, Alberto Otárola, confirmed on January 19 the death of four Haitian citizens and days later the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Acnur) raised the number to seven citizens of that country who were left stranded, exposed to climatic adversities and limited access to basic services.
In addition, on March 6, the death of 6 soldiers who drowned while trying to cross a river was confirmed, supposedly to avoid a confrontation with protesters from the southern region of Puno.
For these cases, President Dina Boluarte and several of her ministers and former ministers, including Otárola, are being preliminarily investigated by the Public Ministry for the alleged commission of the crimes of genocide, qualified homicide and serious injuries.
