DEMAND FOR ACTION ON PERU RAPE CASE

Gay rights organisations have called on the Peruvian government to investigate the alleged rape of a man by police while in custody.

According to reports, on February 25, three members of the National Police allegedly raped a man they believed to be gay, 26 year-old Luís Alberto Rojas Marín.

The attack is said to have taken place at the Casa Grande District National Peruvian Police Station, which is based in Ascope County in the La Libertad Region of Peru.

It has been claimed that the man was targeted and raped because of his sexual orientation.

On April 11, Judge Rosendo Villas Castillo, an Ascope County magistrate, ordered that the three police officers accused of the crime be detained in custody; the first time that authorities in Peru had arrested police members because of hate crimes or human rights abuses related to sexual orientation.

However, after family and friends of the police members organised marches to support the officers, magistrates from the La Libertad Regional Judicial Court freed the men, effectively nullifying the original detention order.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and La Libertad GLTB Association from Peru say that Marín’s basic human rights have been compromised.

The organisations have called for a letter-writing campaign demanding that Peruvian authorities conduct a fair and throughout investigation of Marín’s rape case.

In a letter to the Justice and DDHH Peruvian Parliament Commission President, Raúl Eduardo Castro Stagnaro, the IGLHRC’s Executive Director, Paula Ettelbrick, wrote that:

“As a signatory to international declarations and treaties which assure the right to life, the right to equality before the law, and the right to non-discrimination, it is Peru’s obligation to ensure that human rights violations, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, are fully investigated and that perpetrators are brought to justice.”

She noted that, “This is required in all cases, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity… Peruvian authorities should respect and protect the human rights of all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.”