Peru Grants U.S. Prisoner a Civilian Trial

Four years after hooded military judges convicted Lori Berenson of planning a rebel attack--raising an outcry from Washington--Peru’s military overturned her life sentence and passed the case to a civilian court, officials said Monday.

The 30-year-old New York native was found guilty of treason by the secret tribunal in January 1996 for allegedly helping the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement plan an attack on Peru’s Congress. The attack was foiled by Peruvian authorities.

The tribunal released a written statement Monday saying that Berenson’s sentence was overturned Aug. 18 and her case was passed to a civilian court Thursday.

Berenson’s defense attorney, Grimaldo Achahui, told Radioprogramas that Berenson would remain imprisoned pending a new trial.

“We have fought to the last moment so that she would be judged in a civilian court where she will avail of due process with all guarantees of a right to a defense,” Achahui said. “This does not signify that she will be granted liberty.”

Berenson’s case has been a sore point in U.S. relations with Peru. Washington has repeatedly pressed for a new trial, saying the secret nature of the court violated her rights. The U.S. government has also criticized as too harsh the living conditions she has reportedly been held under in Peruvian prison. Her parents have led a campaign for her release that has raised international concern over the case.

The new decision came despite the insistence by President Alberto Fujimori that Berenson is a terrorist and will remain in prison.