News from Lori's Parents
28 December 2000
This is day 1,856 of Lori's wrongful incarceration in Perú.
In this update:End of first phase of Lori's "trial" delayed yet again
When the first phase of Lori's "trial" began on Monday August 28, exactly four months ago today, Judge Romel Borda was quoted as saying the entire process and verdict should be completed in two months. Evidently, he did not anticipate two extension periods and several delays to give the prosecutor time to "fish" for evidence that we know does not exist. The latest delay that, according to Lori's Peruvian lawyer, may push the public phase of the trial back to mid January, is due to the " mysterious appearance" of a set of typed manuscripts discussing economics, history, and politics that the military allegedly obtained five years ago during the La Molina house shootout but recently turned over to the civilian court. The manuscripts have proofreading notations that the prosecutor claims are in Lori's handwriting. Lori was never questioned about this five years ago during the military tribunal nor was she questioned about this when she gave several days of official testimony in her current trial. She told her Peruvian lawyer she knows nothing about these manuscripts and he has hired an expert graphologist who disputes the findings of the police graphologists. The notorious DINCOTE anti-terrorism police has had a record of fabricating information in other cases.
We hope that the new government of Perú will recognize that Lori's case has been political rather than legal from the onset, that there is no evidence that Lori committed any crime, and that the just decision would be to throw out the case for lack of evidence.
New Year's message
Thank you for all your support for Lori and for us. We will always be grateful for your endeavors that have helped sustain us through some very difficult times and kept Lori's case in the public eye.
We send all our best wishes to you and your loved ones for a healthy and happy new year -- and may this year be one of peace on earth (and Lori's return home).