10 Years After the Arrest of U.S. Citizen Lori Berenson in Peru..

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the arrest of U.S. citizen Lori Berenson in Peru.

On November 30th, 1995, she was arrested on a public bus in downtown Lima and accused of collaborating with the rebel group MRTA.

With a gun held to her head, a hooded military tribunal sentenced the longtime activist to life in prison for "treason against the fatherland." Four-and-a half years later, due to international pressure, her sentence was vacated and she was retried by a civilian court which reduced her sentence to 20 years. Lori Berenson has consistently maintained her innocence.

In 2002, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights declared that neither of her trials complied with international standards and violated her rights to due process.

Because Perú refused to comply with the Commission's recommendations, the Commission brought Lori Berenson's case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In 2004, the court - which was seen as one of her last avenues of appeal - upheld her imprisonment. A Peruvian judge on the court boasted how he had convinced his fellow justices to overturn the commission's ruling

On the 10th anniversary of her arrest, Lori Berenson released a statement from prison. Her father, Mark Berenson, joined us in the studio yesterday to read the words of his jailed daughter Lori.

* Mark Berenson, reads Lori Berenson's statement from prison.

Lori Berenson has been jailed in Peru for 10 years. She has 10 to go. She is scheduled for release in 2015.

LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/30/153258

More information: http://FreeLori.org
Democracy Now!'s exclusive interview with Lori Berenson:
Part 1
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/027247&mode=thread&tid=5
Part 2
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/027250&mode=thread&tid=5
Part 3
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/07/027257&mode=thread&tid=5/a