Peru orders to imprison a police officer for the first time for the killing of a demonstrator in the protests against Dina Boluarte

A year ago, on January 11, 2023, a 22-year-old man named Rosalino Flórez Valverde was killed in a hail of bullets while protesting against the Dina Bolwart government in Cuzco. The scene has been recorded on video: it can be clearly seen how the boy, who had no weapons, hides behind a tree until a police officer chases him and shoots him in the back. -Shoots several times. Tomography revealed the brutality: 36 shrapnel destroyed his lower back. They operated on him three times, but only 14 bullets could be removed. He died in Lima on 21 March after 69 days of suffering.

On Friday, the judiciary issued an 18-month preventive detention against Joe Eric Torres Lovón, a police non-commissioned officer identified as the author of the murder of Florez Valverde. Amid an inefficient justice system that has identified alleged attackers in only six cases, the verdict represents a beacon for the bereaved. This is the first preventive detention order involving a member of the law enforcement forces in the context of the crackdown that left 49 civilians dead with firebombs and tear gas bombs.

Judge Leodon Cristóbal Ayala of the Sixth Preliminary Investigation Court of the Supreme Court took a strong stance in sentencing. “The loss is immeasurable, not just to their families. His father, mother and younger siblings have suffered in countless, indescribable ways (…) This was not an isolated crime, but a disproportionate state response. Not only lives were affected but also the rights of people to express their dissent,” the magistrate said. In the context of serious violations of human rights, the agent is prosecuted for the crime of murder, including treason.

The victim’s defense lawyer, Juan José Quispe, valued the judiciary’s decision in addition to the lack of speed of the investigation. “This is the first case in which preventive detention has been issued against the direct author of the death of a social protest protestor. “Furthermore, the magistrate made it clear in his resolution that the state, through the Peruvian National Police, made a disproportionate and disproportionate use of force to repel protesters,” he told the newspaper. Business,

This case represents a double stain for the institution that is supposed to ensure security. According to the investigation by Mirela Coronel of the Special Team of Prosecutors for Cases of Victims during Social Protests (Efiquit), the police hindered the investigation by concealing, modifying and omitting information. On January 11, 2023, the day of the attack on Rosalino Flórez Valverde, the corresponding report about the incident was not prepared. Secondly, through a report, the Seventh Macro Police Region of Cuzco stated that the Tactical Action Subunit (SUAT), to which Torres Lovón belongs, was not assigned to the area where Florez Valverde was shot, however, There are videos that prove the opposite.

But this is not the only evidence of an attempt to fabricate the facts: SUAT’s weapons assignment notebook shows that Torres Lovón’s firearm was returned to him on January 10, the day before the attack, when it was initially recorded. That it was January 12th. A correction was left in the notebook which is the subject of investigation.

The reasons determining the 18-month preventive detention against Agent Torres Lovon are that he could not prove domestic roots. If found guilty, he could face a prison sentence of 15 to 35 years. The accused joined the hearing virtually in a name which is not his. “We are facing a man who is at high risk of escape or flight,” Judge Leodon Cristobal Ayala said. An order has been given for his location and arrest across the country.

The evaluation of the Prosecutor’s request to impose a subpoena with restrictions and obstruction in leaving the country on Colonel Edson Hernán Cerón Lazo for the murder of Rosalino Flórez Valverde is pending evaluation. He is being investigated as an alleged perpetrator by action or omission, as he is Torres Lovon’s superior. The hearing to decide his fate will be held on January 22.

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