Amnesty International rejects the enactment of Law 32735, which allows alleged crimes committed by members of the Armed Forces and the Police to be investigated and tried by military and police courts, rather than by the ordinary justice system, even when the victims are civilians.
The law, enacted on 20 July, amends the Military-Police Criminal Code and the New Criminal Procedure Code. It could result in ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings being transferred or halted, including cases in which a first-instance conviction has already been handed down.
Under international human rights standards, which Peru is legally obliged to uphold, military courts must not try civilians or hear cases involving possible human rights violations or crimes under international law. Their jurisdiction must be strictly limited to military offences committed by military personnel in the exercise of specifically military duties.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has affirmed this principle in several judgments concerning Peru. Referring these cases to the military justice system jeopardizes the rights of victims of human rights violations and their families to know the truth, access justice and obtain reparation.
“This law seriously jeopardizes judicial independence and the ability of victims of human rights violations to access justice. It undermines judicial independence and accountability for the unlawful use of force by police and military personnel, and seeks to revive, from the darkest depths, a policy of impunity that the Peruvian state has attempted to impose for decades,” said Jennie Dador, Executive Director of Amnesty International Peru.
This law seriously jeopardizes judicial independence and the ability of victims of human rights violations to access justice. It undermines judicial independence and accountability for the unlawful use of force by police and military personnel, and seeks to revive, from the darkest depths, a policy of impunity that t
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