A new report says that the killing of protesters amid widespread unrest may constitute “extrajudicial executions.”
A human rights commission has stated that the Peruvian government committed abuses as it cracked down on widespread unrest following the arrest of former President Pedro Castillo in December.
In a report released on Wednesday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said that the state’s response to nationwide protests could be classified as a “massacre.”
Peru has continued to grapple with a political crisis, sparked on December 7, when Castillo attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree as he faced a third impeachment hearing. Those actions led to his arrest and subsequent protests, which called for his release, new elections, and a revised constitution.
A previous report by the human rights group Amnesty International called the government’s crackdown “systemically racist” for disproportionately targeting Indigenous populations that have already endured a history of neglect, disenfranchisement and state violence.
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