The specialized court of the Judicial Branch of Peru convicted Congressman Guillermo Bermejo Rojas for the crime of affiliation to terrorist organizationimposed by 15 years of effective prison. In the sentence, the court accepted the allegations of the prosecution that attributed to Bermejo voluntary integration into a cell of the terrorist organization Sendero Luminoso in the area of the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro Rivers (VRAEM) in the years 2008-2009. The prosecution had specifically requested a 20-year sentence, which the court ultimately adopted.
In the foundations of the ruling it is stated that the prosecution established that Bermejo consciously and voluntarily went to terrorist campswhere he received ideological indoctrination and training in firearms, in addition to holding clandestine meetings with members of the Sendero leadership led by the brothers Victor and Jorge Quispe Palomino. The court assessed statements from effective collaborators and witnesses that link Bermejo to such activities, although this type of evidence has been the subject of previous controversy due to the lack of corroboration in other processes.
The sentence also incorporates the imposition of civil reparation by Bermejo on the State, as well as the disqualification from holding public office during the period established by law for those convicted of terrorism crimes. The ruling warns that the defendant’s behavior seriously violated the constitutional order and public tranquility, and emphasizes that in cases of terrorist affiliation the criminal response must have a deterrent effect. The prosecution had proposed a civil reparation of 100 thousand soles in favor of the Peruvian State.
(News in development)
