Forty years after the events were perpetrated and 20 after the start of the tax investigation, the Manta and Vilca case obtained an outcome with historical overtones this Wednesday: the Judiciary sentenced 10 former military personnel to effective prison terms of between six and twelve years. These members of the Peruvian Army were found guilty of sexually raping nine peasant women from the Huancavelica region in 1984.
During the bloodiest days of terrorism, the Peruvian Government declared various areas of the country in emergency, installing military bases. However, in the districts of Manta and Vilca, instead of protecting the population, some regiments committed various abuses, using the counterinsurgency fight as a pretext.
This ruling is emblematic as it marks the first time Peru has opened a judicial process for sexual violence as a crime against humanity in the context of the internal armed conflict. The verdict was delivered amidst legislative headwinds, with Congress recently approving a bill that seeks the prescription of processes for crimes against humanity committed before July 2002.
In a public hearing at the National Criminal Chamber in Lima, the verdict determined 12 years of imprisonment for Sabino Valentín Rutti; 10 years for Rufino Rivera Quispe, Vicente Yance Collahuacho, Epifanio Quiñonez Loyola, Amador Gutiérrez Lizarbe, Lorenzo Inga Romero, Raúl Pinto Ramos, and Arturo Simarra García; eight years in prison for Martín Sierra Gabriel; and six years for Pedro Pérez López. Sentences were reserved for three other former soldiers as they were contumacious prisoners. Notably, none of the convicted were present at the hearing.
Throughout the process, the defense tried to distort the victims' testimonies, claiming the relationships were consensual. However, the judges found the testimonies reliable. 'We are facing serious events. Although there are inaccuracies in the stories, the accusations are persistent and credible,' the court noted. All those convicted must pay civil reparation of 100,000 soles (27,000 dollars).
The arguments of Demus (Study for the Defense of Women's Rights), which provided legal and psychological support to the victims, were cited in the sentence. They emphasized that the sexual violations committed by members of the Armed Forces were massive and systematic. 'It is not legitimate to use strategies of sexual violence as a method of intimidation,' was mentioned in another passage of the hearing.
According to the Single Registry of Victims of the Reparations Council of the Ministry of Justice, more than 4,800 cases of sexual violation were reported between 1980 and 2000, with 83% perpetrated by law enforcement forces, according to the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation (TRC).
One of the most emotional moments was when the court determined the guilt of Vicente Yance Collahuacho, alias 'Pato,' who raped Marilia, one of the victims who died a couple of months ago due to various health complications. Marilia was key in the sentencing by detailing her case in the book 'Our Voices Exist.' Although it was not during her lifetime, justice worked for her and her companions.
- Ten retired Peruvian soldiers were sentenced to between six and 12 years in prison for crimes against humanity after being found guilty of the systematic rape of nine women, sometimes minors, between 1984 and 1985, during the internal armed conflict against the guerrilla Maoist of Sendero Luminoso.
- This ruling puts an end to five years of proceedings in a case that has become emblematic in Peru, being the first to judge sexual violence committed by soldiers. None of the ten condemned men, represented by their lawyers, were present when the sentence was read. Three other soldiers were convicted in absentia.
- The systematic rapes began in 1984, when the Peruvian army established a base near the Andean towns of Manta and Vilca, in the southern region of Huancavelica, one of Peru's poorest. Some of the victims were minors and five of them became pregnant, their lawyers recalled.
