For our friends in the Miami area, CJA is co-hosting a panel discussion on the case and accountability efforts in Peru on Wednesday, February 13th, 7:30 p.m. at the University of Miami School of Law, 1311 Miller Drive, Coral Gables. Almudena Bernabeu, Hon. Javier Diez Canseco and Eduardo Gonzalez will be panelists. More information available here.
Dear Friends of CJA,
Yesterday, we completed a trial on damages in Miami against former Peruvian Major Telmo Hurtado for his role in the infamous Accomarca Massacre. Twenty three years after the events of that terrible day, Teófila Ochoa Lizarbe and Cirila Pulida Baldéon had an opportunity to confront one of the perpetrators and tell their story in a U.S. court.
Ms. Ochoa Lizarbe and Ms. Pulida Baldéon, who were both twelve at the time, survived by hiding while 69 members of their village, including their family members, were tortured and murdered. Major Hurtado, who commanded one of the army units responsible for the massacre, came to the U.S in 2002 after the amnesty law in Peru preventing his prosecution was repealed.
Hurtado is currently in immigration detention and defaulted in the case. Nonetheless, we successfully sought leave of court to require Hurtado to appear so our clients would be able to confront him. U.S. Marshals brought Hurtado to court in prison garb and shackles. While Hurtado ultimately refused to participate in the proceeding, the clients felt that a measure of accountability was accomplished by his presence.
Please join me in congratulating our clients, expert witnesses former Peruvian Senator Javier Diez Canseco and Eduardo Gonzalez of the International Center for Transitional Justice, Ana Deutsch of the Program for Victims of Torture, and all the others who came together to make the trial an important step forward in the movement for justice and accountability. We expect Judge Adalberto Jordan to issue a decision awarding damages in the near future.
For more information on these important cases, please see the press release in English and Spanish or visit our website, www.cja.org.
All the best,
Pamela Merchant
Executive Director