News from Lori's Parents
25 September 1997
In this update:- Congressional Delegation to Visit Lori
- Letter in the House of Representatives
- Letter in the U.S. Senate
Congressional Delegation to Visit Lori
CBS "60 Minutes" to Make Trip
On Wednesday October 1 a Congressional Delegation consisting of Representatives C. Brown (Dem. FL), N. Deal (Rep. GA), J. Kingston (Rep. GA), and C. Maloney (Dem. NY) will be visiting Americans incarcerated in Ecuador and Perú, in particular, Lori, who has not been seen by members of the Congress since her arrest 22 months ago.
The CBS program "60 Minutes" intends to provide media coverage of the four-day trip, possibly led by anchor Mike Wallace, recent recipient of Amnesty International USA's Media Spotlight Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Letter in the House of Representatives
A letter is presently circulating in the House of Representatives to be sent to Secretary of State Albright asking her to "do all within your power to impress upon the Peruvian government the importance of providing [Lori] an open and fair proceeding in a civilian court without further delay." As of today, 83 members signed onto this letter that is sponsored by Representatives Maloney, Leach, Dellums, and Morella. They are:
Berman (CA);Bonior (MI);Brown, C. (FL);Brown, G. (CA);Capps (CA); Conyers (MI);Cummmings (MD);Cunningham (CA);Davis (IL);DeGette (CO); DeLauro (CT); Dellums (CA);Deutsch (FL);Engle (NY);Farr (CA); Flake (NY); Forbes (NY);Frank (MA);Franks (NJ); Frost (TX); Furse (OR);Gejdenson (CT);Gutierrez (IL);Hinchey (NY);Horn (CA);Jackson-Lee (TX); Kaptur (OH); Kelly (NY);Kennedy (MA);Kennelly (CT);Kilpatrick (MI);LaFalce (NY); Lantos (CA);Leach (IA); Levin (MI); John Lewis (GA);Lipinski (IL); Lofgren (CA);Lowey (NY);C.Maloney (NY); Manton (NY);Markey (MA);McDade (PA);McGovern (MA);McInnis (CO);McKinney (GA);McNulty (NY);Meehan (MA); Minge (MN);Moakley (MA); James Moran (VA);Morella (MD);Nadler (NY); Oberstar (MN);Olver (MA);Pallone (NJ);Pascrell (NJ);Payne (NJ); Pelosi (CA);Pomeroy (ND); Porter (IL); Poshard (IL); Roybal-Allard (CA); Rush (IL) Sabo (MN) Sanders (VT); LoBiondo (NJ); Eshoo (CA): Owens (NY); Sawyer (OH);Schumer (NY);Serrano (NY);Shays (CT);Skaggs (CO); Slaughter (NY);Stark (CA);Torres (CA);Towns (NY);Underwood (GU);Vento (MN);Waters (CA);Woolsey (CA);Yates (IL).
If your Congressional Representative is not on this list, please call or write and urge him or her to contact Maggie McDow in Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's office (225-7944) and sign the letter to Secretary of State Albright. If you call, emphasize that all Lori is asking for is due process and everyone, regardless of political orientation, believes that Lori deserves due process in a civilian court. The switchboard number for the House of Representatives is 1-202-225-3121.
If you prefer to write, a sample letter is attached. Send it to your representative; House of Representatives; Washington, D.C. 20515.
SAMPLE LETTER/MEMO TO REPRESENTATIVES
To: _________________________
From: _________________________
Date: _________________________
Re: Due Process for Lori Berenson
In January 1996, Lori Berenson, an American citizen, was sentenced to life in prison by a secret Peruvian military tribunal in violation of international law. She was denied a fair public trial by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, as required by international covenants ratified by Perú. The Peruvian anti-terrorism laws afford no due process and have been strongly criticized by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch: Americas, The Carter Center for Human Rights, and other human rights organizations.
Ms. Berenson has suffered for 21 months in an excessively harsh Andean maximum security prison which endangers her health and allows her extremely limited access to family and legal counsel. She continues to claim her innocence and asks only for a trial that meets international standards of due process.
I urge you to sign the letter to Secretary of State Albright, asking her to do all within her power to impress upon the Peruvian government the importance of providing Ms. Berenson an open and fair proceeding in a civilian court without further delay. For the House of Representatives letter, please contact Maggie McDow in Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's office (225-7944).
Sincerely,
Letter in the U.S. Senate
The Senate letter is finally about to circulate. Our next update will give details and a call to action.