After 35 years of efforts by the victims ' families to seek justice, a Peruvian court has sentenced 18 retired military personnel to eight to 15 years in prison for a 1988 massacre of 39 farmers in the Ayacucho region in the fight against Maoist rebels .

Edited by| Hugh Gey

Humanity  section -  CJ journalist

Lima - August,13,2023

The Ministry of Justice announced in a statement on the platform "X" (formerly Twitter), Friday evening, that " the court. The defendants were sentenced to imprisonment from

Eight to 15 years for aggravated murder".

The case dates back to May 14, 1988, when two military patrols entered a village in the Kayara region, and their elements

Torturing farmers and then executing them in an effort to obtain information the day after four soldiers were killed in an attack of The "Shining Path"movement

Maoism.

The most severe punishment is 15 years in prison for the two lieutenants who led these patrols , and 16 soldiers were sentenced to eight

Years.

The sessions, which were held virtually and without attendance, culminate a 35-year effort by the families of the victims to achieve

Justice

During the hearings, the military personnel completely denied what was attributed to them, asserting that when they arrived at the

The villagers, blaming the massacre on the rebel movement.

But the judges rejected this version, based on the testimonies of survivors.

According to the final report of the" truth and Reconciliation Commission " dating back to 2003, about 69 thousand people, most of whom

Poor farmers in the Andean regions, in the context of the armed conflict in Peru between 1980 and 2000.

The commission considered the "Shining Path" movement primarily responsible for human rights violations, but also accused

Law enforcement agencies are guilty of crimes against humanity.