Peru sentences soldiers to jail for 1985 massacre

A Peruvian court on Thursday (September 1) sentenced former army officers and soldiers to jail for killing dozens of peasants in an Andean village 31 years ago during the height of a conflict between the government and Shining Path rebels.

In so-called Accomarca massacre in August 1985, 71 villagers died, including 23 children.

Soldiers stormed the town near Ayacucho in search of subversive material but found no ammunition, explosives or Shining Path propaganda, according to Peru’s truth commission.

Troops led by officer Telmo Hurtado then separated men from a group of women and children, before ordering them shot and set on fire. Hurtado has admitted to the massacre but says he was following higher orders.

The Court sentenced Hurtado to 23 years in jail. He was arrested in the United States on immigration violations in 2007 and extradited to Peru to face charges related to the massacre in 2011.

When asked by the judge what he had to say for himself, Telmo Hurtado, said he did not agree with the sentence and would appeal. The judge then ordered the trial closed as relatives of the victims looked on behind a glass screen.

Retired general Wilfredo Mori was also sentenced to 25 years in prison. He is considered to being the mastermind behind the murders.

In addition, former lieutenants Juan Rivera Rondon and Nelson Gonzales Feria were sentenced to 24 years and 25 years in prison. Carlos Delgado Medina was sentenced to 25 years and another 10 soldiers to 10 years in prison.

Only Hurtado is currently in custody.

The lawyer for the families of the victims, Carlos Rivera, said he was happy with the outcome.

“The outcome of the trial is a positive one, from our point of view. Why? First, because the trial has finally concluded. There is a sentence that is recognising the particular gravity of the events that took place on August 1985 and as a result of this, what has been proven is not only the responsibility of Telmo Hurtado, but the responsibility of military commanders who gave these orders. As a result, the court has issued truly harsh sentences. The sentence requested by the prosecution is the one which has been imposed in general terms, above all to the chiefs, who issued the orders,” Rivera said.

A relatives of the victims differed.

“We are outraged because we are not satisfied with the sentence. We do not agree because we have been made to wait 31 years for this short sentence. We would ask to make it 30 years, we would be satisfied with that,” he said.

Peru’s truth commission estimated some 69,000 people died or went missing in two decades of conflict with the Shining Path. The commission blamed the rebel group for most killings and state authorities for about a third.

Remnant bands of rebels still operate in remote regions, with close ties to drug trafficking.