WOLA's Reply to Peru's NY Times Letter

The New York Times -- 31 January 1996

Letter to the Editor


To the Editor:

Re "Peru Applied Law in Case of American" (letter, Jan. 24) by Ricardo V. Luna, Peru's Ambassador to the United States, in which he asserts that Peru's special antiterrorist jurisdiction "complies with international due process standards":

In 1993 a group of international jurists led by Robert Goldman of American University undertook a study of Peru's antiterrorist legislation. It concluded that "the administration of justice in terrorism, and especially treason cases, has been seriously flawed and is at odds in many key respects with Peru's international legal obligations."

Coletta A. Youngers, Senior Associate
Washington Office on Latin America
Washington, Jan. 24, 1996