Peru: The Two Faces of Justice

The creation of a system of faceless courts to prosecute those accused of terrorism—justified as a temporary emergency measure—stands out as anti-democratic and in violation of basic human rights principles. Together with the impunity granted to government forces who torture, rape, and murder citizens, justice under Fujimori is two-faced: benevolent to soldiers, punitive to civilians. Not a single person charged with terrorism or treason in Peru since new laws were implemented in 1992 has received a fair trial. Of the thousands tried or convicted by so-called faceless courts, presided over by secret prosecutors and judges, hundreds are innocent, snared by planted evidence, perjury, mistaken identity, the uncorroborated and often politically motivated testimony of repented guerrillas, lost court files, political witch hunts, and even typographical errors in court documents. The arbitrary permeates every stage of the judicial process, erasing any pretense at fairness, impartiality, or legal procedure.