Caso Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reinoso y otros
| Court |
Corte Suprema de Justicia (Supreme Court of Justice), Peru |
| Case number |
No. 5385-2006 |
| Decision title |
Sentencia (Judgment) |
| Decision date |
26 November 2007 |
| Parties |
- Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reinoso
- Elena Albertina Yparraguirre Revoredo
- María Guadalupe Pantoja Sánchez
- Laura Eugenia Zambrano
- Margie Eveling Clavo Peralta
- Margot Lourdes Liendo Gil
- Osmán Roberto Morote Barrionuevo
- Victoria Obdulia Trujillo Agurto
- Angélica Salas de la Cruz
- Víctor Zavala Cataño
- Martha Isabel Huatay Ruiz
- Oscar Alberto Ramírez Durand
- Rómulo Misaico Evanan
- Judith Ramos Cuadros
|
| Other names |
|
| Categories |
Human rights violations, Terrorism |
| Keywords |
guerrilla, Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), Terrorism |
| Links |
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back to topSummary
Abimael Guzmán was the founder of Shining Path, a guerrilla group in Perú. The aim of Shining Path was to overthrow the Peruvian government. Between 1980 and 2000, Shining Path was responsible for an extensive campaign of violence, including the killings of thousands of people.
Guzmán was arrested in 1992, and in the same year, a secret military court sentenced him to life imprisonment. This decision was found to have been based on unconstitutional laws in 2003, and resulted in the retrial of Guzmán and the other leaders of Shining Path. The charges included terrorism, murder and other offences. The lower Peruvian court found Guzmán guilty of terrorism and other offences, sentencing him, and his second in command, Elena Iparraguirre, to life imprisonment. The other ten co-defendants were also found guilty, and received sentences between 24 and 35 years of imprisonment.
The Supreme Court of Justice upheld the life sentence against Abimael Guzmán and Elena Iparraguirre. The Supreme Court also increased the sentences of some of the co-defendants up to 35 years of imprisonment, and confirmed the sentences of others.
back to topProcedural history
The Peruvian government arrested Guzmán on 12 September 1992. In October of the same year, he was tried by a secret military court in Callao (Perú) and, subsequently, sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2003, Perú’s Constitutional Court declared the national law pursuant to which Guzmán was convicted by the secret military court unconstitutional, overturning the conviction. This also allowed the possibility for Guzmán’s retrial. In 2004, Guzmán’s first retrial resulted in chaos. Because of this, the retrial was suspended.
On 13 October 2006, the lower court convicted Guzmán and the other defendantsfor aggravated terrorism, murder and other offences.
back to topLegally relevant facts
Abimael Guzmán was the founder of the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group operating in Perú. Between 1980 and 2000, Shining Path conducted a violent campaign in pursuance of overthrowing the Peruvian government. As part of this campaign, Shining Path bombed numerous facilities, including bridges and factories, and massacred a large number of people. The most well-known incident is the massacre at the Andean village of Lucanamarca (Perú) in 1983, where 69 villagers (including children) were shot and hacked to death as a retaliatory act for killing some of the rebels. Guzmán was captured and imprisoned in 1992. He led a rebellion that resulted in the death and disappearance of over 70,000 people. According to a Peruvian truth commission’s report in 2003, Shining Path was responsible for the deaths of over half of the 70,000 people who died or disappeared.
On 13 October 2006, a Peruvian court found Guzmán and other leaders of Shining Path guilty of terrorism and other offences. Guzmán and his second in command, Elena Iparraguirre were sentenced to life imprisonment. The other defendants received sentences between 24 and 35 years of imprisonment.
back to topCore legal questions
- Did the lower court err in its findings with respect to the convictions and sentences of the Appellants?
- Can the Supreme Court uphold the claims of the Appellants?
back to topCourt's holding and analysis
The Supreme Court of Justice upheld the life sentence against Abimael Guzmán and Elena Iparraguirre. The Supreme Court also increased the sentences of some of the co-defendants up to 35 years of imprisonment, and confirmed the sentences of others.
back to topFurther analysis
back to topAdditional materials
