US embassy cable - 05LIMA4130

UNCLAS LIMA 004130 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PE 
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT DECIDES THAT REBEL LEADER ANTAURO 
HUMALA SHOULD BE TRIED IN ANDAHUAYLAS, NOT LIMA 
 
REF: A. LIMA 357 
 
     B. LIMA 93 
     C. LIMA 37 
     D. LIMA 12 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified, Please Handle Accordingly 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY.  Peru's Supreme Court ruled 9/21 that 
Ethno-Cacerist leader Antauro Humala and his followers should 
be tried in Andahuaylas, the site of their murderous January 
uprising, and not in Lima.  The National Director of Prisons 
said he would not comply with the Court's ruling on 
transferring the prisoners, and the Public Prosecutor said he 
would file a request for a change of venue with the 
Andahuaylas Court.  Holding the trial in Andahuaylas would 
seriously strain local resources, and legal wrangling over 
the location of the trial is expected to continue.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) The Permanent Criminal Chamber of Peru's Supreme 
Court, under the direction of former Supreme Court President 
Hugo Sivina, ruled unanimously on 9/21 that the trial of 
Ethno-Cacerist leader Antauro Humala and 159 of his followers 
should be held in Andahuaylas, where Humala's January 2005 
uprising (see reftels) took place, and not in Lima.  The 
take-over of the Andahuaylas police station by the 
ultra-nationalists under Humala's leadership resulted in the 
death of four police officers and a hostage stand-off that 
lasted for four days.  The long-awaited decision by the 
Supreme Court cited the principal of seeking the "natural 
venue," i.e., the presumption that a trial should occur in 
the locale where crimes are alleged to have taken place. 
 
3. (U) National Director of Prisons Wilfredo Pedraza 
announced that he would not comply with the Supreme Court's 
order to transfer the prisoners.  Pedraza said the jail in 
Andahuaylas was designed to accommodate 90 prisoners, and 
that 168 were already being held there.  Transferring the 
Ethno-Cacerists would almost double an already over-crowded 
contingent, and would further challenge the sparse local 
security force of 15 prison guards and 8 police officers.  He 
also noted that unlike the Castro Castro and Lurigancho 
prisons in Lima, the jail in Andahuaylas did not have a 
secure courtroom adjacent to it. 
 
4. (U) Public Prosecutor Jacobo Romero said he would contest 
the Supreme Court decision by filing a request for a change 
of venue with the Andahuaylas District Court.  Romero said 
the Peruvian Procedural Code contemplates such a change when 
there is "risk or uncontrollable danger" associated with the 
circumstances of a trial. 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT:  The Supreme Court's decision to have the 
Ethno-Cacerist trial take place in Andahuaylas is supported 
by abstract legal principle, but it ignores the practical 
reality of the very adverse conditions that exist there. 
Physical infrastructure and police presence will have to be 
markedly augmented if the case is to be heard in Andahuaylas, 
and the situation is exacerbated by the lingering 
undercurrent of community support in the highlands for 
Antauro's rebellion, and for the increased political activity 
of his brother, Ollanta Humala (septel).  We expect that the 
matter is not fully settled, as many media and political 
figures have yet to weigh in.  There will likely be further 
judicial maneuvering, as the judges in Andahuaylas will 
presumably be loathe to take on the risky responsibility that 
the Supreme Court has handed them. 
POWERS