Peru To Compensate Victims' Relatives of 2020 Police Brutality

President Pedro Castillo will grant financial compensation to the relatives of the two Peruvian farmers who died as a result of the police brutality deployed in the 2020 protests, which forced the resignation of President Manuel Merino, who spent just five days in office.

RELATED: 

Hitmen Kill Amazon Indigenous Leader in Peru

The Justice Ministry decree sets a compensation of US$10,000 for the families of those who died in the "Agrarian Strike" which took place in La Libertad and Ica regions between Dec. 20 and 30, 2020.

The very moment of one of those deaths was captured in a photograph which won the national journalism award and was taken by Ivan Orbegoso, who managed to portray a police officer shooting at protesters in Viru in La Libertad.

The compensations established for victims of this State terrorism case follow the parameters applied in June for those killed in the protests against the inauguration of Merino.

According to the investigations carried out so far, the two young men died as a result of direct actions by members of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), who fired lead pellets which are prohibited ammunition to control demonstrations.

Citizens seriously injured as a result of these projectiles will be compensated with amounts ranging from US$3,744 to US$10,000 depending on the consequences of the injuries. A special commission will set the specific compensation for 26 citizens wounded in the November marches against Merino and two Peruvians wounded on December 2.

In total, the Peruvian Government will allocate USD200,000 to this group of victims through exceptional financial assistance that "has no compensatory or reparative nature." This benefit is independent of any other compensation that the Peruvian judges determine due to administrative, civil, or criminal responsibilities attributable to Police personnel.