LIMA (Reuters) – Peruvian national police committed “multiple abuses” against mostly peaceful demonstrators in November as they protested “the very questionable removal” of then-President Martin Vizcarra https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-peru-politics-vizcarra/peru-plunged-into-political-upheaval-as-congress-ousts-president-vizcarra-idUKKBN27P2FG, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.
The New York-based rights group urged interim President Francisco Sagasti, Congress and police commanders to adopt reforms to ensure officers respect the right of peaceful assembly. The interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two protesters were killed and over 200 injured, some seriously, in demonstrations between Nov. 9 and 15, HRW said in a statement.
“Witness statements and other evidence Human Rights Watch collected indicate that police repeatedly used excessive force against protesters,” the rights group said.
The evidence includes videos showing police “recklessly” shooting teargas canisters directly into crowds, HRW said.
Vizcarra, who drove a tough anti-corruption campaign, was removed by the opposition Congress on Nov. 9 in an impeachment trial over allegations of bribery. He joins a long list of Peruvian politicians ensnared in allegations of corruption, and his ouster threw the world’s no. 2 copper producer into political turmoil ahead of planned elections next year.
In Sagasti’s inauguration speech on Nov. 17, he promised justice to the victims of abuse at the hands of police. The commission he created on Nov. 24 has 60 days to recommend measures aimed at modernizing and improving the police force.
“President Sagasti has taken an important step by convening a commission to improve police performance,” HRW Americas Director Jose Miguel Vivanco said in the statement.
HRW said it interviewed 76 people, including victims and their lawyers, during a visit to Lima as part of its probe. HRW also met with the justice minister and the police commander.
Sagasti told Reuters last month there would be “no impunity” for those responsible for the deaths and injuries, but he stopped short of committing to police reform.
“On November 9, Congress ousted Vizcarra from office through a questionable legal process, claiming that he lacked ‘moral capacity’ because there is an ongoing corruption investigation against him. He has not been charged with any crime,” HRW said.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino, writing by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
