On the International Womans¦Day, we greet all women of Peru and the world, and especially all those women who are deprived of their freedom because of their political ideas and are subjected to cruel and humilating treatment. We are sorry that on this International Womans Day we have to inform the national and international public opinion of the fact that the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori is reaching its goal of liquidating the political prisoners. On 7th of February, 21 political prisoners members of the MRTA were brutally beaten in the course of being transfered from the prison of Canto Grande to the prison of Yanamayo. As a result of this brutal agression against the political prisoners and due to the complete denial of medical attention by prison authorities, one of these comrades died of pulmonary oedema some days later. In view of these incident, our comrades protested with absolute right and indignation against the prison authorities. This rightful protest was declared as mutiny and used as pretext to repress our brothers in prison and to shoot them. Many were wounded by bullets and others may have died. The rumors about this are strong,but due to the fact that informations are hermetically held back by authorities, no detailed information is known about the incidents of the past few days.

Preoccupied by the rumors about violence against their sons, two relatives travelled to Yanamayo to inform themselves about their children. Today, Mrs. Palomino, mother of Eladio Palomino Segura returned to Puna. The effects of the visit have been so strong that she had to be taken to a hospital, because among the injured was her son, together with Montalban Segura, Cerna Ponce, Yoni Romero, Edinson Loayza, Alejandro Astorga and Miguel Rincón. Two of these are seriously injured.

We are preoccupied for the health and the life of all the political prisoners and their relatives. Because of that, we ask the human rights organisations to send delegations in the course of their work of defending life and the elemental human rights, so that these delegations may intend to afe the lives of the prisoners.

We make a special call to international medical aid organisations to send delegations to the prison of Yanamayo in Puno in an intent to save human lives.

We fear for the lives of the brothers and sisters who are political prisoners in the prison of Yanamayo. For this reason we ask every conscious woman and man in Peru and in the world to denounce this repugnant crime and to mobilize against this in front of peruvian embassies and consulates worldwide.

8th march, 1998

VOZ REBELDE

Send faxes of protest to the peruvian Minister of Justice:
Sr. Ministro de Justicia Alfredo Quispe
Fax: 00 51 1 42 23 57 7

Copies to the human-rights organisations:
Jorge Santisteban de Noriega, DefensorÝa del Pueblo
Fax: 00 51 1 42 64 90 0

Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos
Fax: 00 51 1 44 11 53 3