The lawyer of Guillermo Bermejo, Ronald Atencioquestioned the recent sentence handed down by the Judiciary against his sponsor for the crime of affiliation to a terrorist organization. As explained to La República, the Third Superior Criminal Chamber of the National Transitory Liquidator did not adequately evaluate various testimonies and evidence that would demonstrate that Bermejo maintains an ideological and political position different from that of Sendero Luminoso and that, in addition, would prove that he was not part of the organization.
“The Judiciary has not taken into account the declaration of Max Anhuamanformer head of the DINI, where he denies Bermejo’s participation in the terrorist organization. The collaborators mention that Bermejo did not sign the act of subjection to the Shining Path. His (Bermejo’s) own statements on social networks – such as Facebook posts where he demands action against the Quispe Palomino and even against Abimael Guzman and Path— evidence calls for action against the organization Abimael Guzman. Furthermore, he never agreed with the ideology of Sendero Luminoso,” he said.
Given this scenario, Attention indicated that they will present various appeals to reverse the 15-year prison sentence, the S/100,000 fine imposed as civil reparation, and the political disqualification. The lawyer stated that he hopes that these actions will be resolved in the coming days in favor of his client.
“An appeal for annulment will be presented – so called under the old code, although it serves the function of an appeal -. The maximum period to file it is ten days, but it will be done sooner. Likewise, it will be requested that, while the process lasts, the person remains free through the provisional suspension of the execution of the sentence, so that they can face the appeal in that condition,” he added.
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Left-wing sectors oppose the sentence against Guillermo Bermejo
After hearing the sentence against Guillermo Bermejo, his party, Voices of the Peoplepublished a statement in which it noted that the conviction “does not withstand the minimum legal analysis” and accused the Judiciary of launching a persecution against its presidential candidate. “They use ‘justice’ as a tool of indefinite persecution, accusing him of a terrorist affiliation that he has never had and that, on the contrary, he has faced from all the spaces where he has exercised his political activity,” the group expressed.
New Peruan organization that together with Voces del Pueblo makes up the Venceremos electoral alliance, also described the sentence as part of a mechanism of political persecution. “The dictatorial regime that has captured power in Peru continues to seek to remove opponents of the mafia coalition from the race. It has promoted disqualifications from Congress and, using its arms in the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judiciary, promotes unjust sentences without legal basis to clear the way for the candidates of said coalition,” they stated.
Forward United Town (APU) was another left-wing party that opposed the sentence against Bermejo. The party of Anahí Durand and Aníbal Torres considered that this sentence seeks to marginalize the congressman from his participation in the next elections: “Guillermo Bermejo’s left-wing political position is widely known and has nothing to do with the “terrorism” that the court has ruled. They thus attack the right to choose of a sector of the population and create a scenario of fraud, consolidating an authoritarian regime and dictatorial,” they point out.
For its part, Veronika Mendozaformer presidential candidate, rejected the decision and considered that it represents a way of institutionalizing the “terruqueo.” “They intend to remove a presidential candidate from the race and deprive him of his freedom by recycling a case that has already been annulled twice by the Supreme Court,” he said.
Zaira Arias would replace Guillermo Bermejo in Congress
After being sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment, the bench of Russet in it Congress was left vacant. In this scenario, said seat would be occupied by the next candidate with the highest votes on her list. It is worth remembering that Russet was elected as a representative of Free Perumatch in which the communicator Zaira Arias got the second most votes. Consequently, Arias would take over as accessory and replace the now sentenced congressman in office.
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Zaira Arias, who was part of the pencil party until 2022, denounced at the time that Free Peru would have presented lists of councilors with forged signatures. Likewise, he pointed out that Vladimir Cerron directly influenced his departure from the political organization, describing said decision as “arbitrary.”
When the news became known, doubts arose regarding the possibility that Bermejo would not be replaced, due to the provisions of article 15-A of the Congress Regulationsor, which prevents replacing legislators with final sentences for terrorism crimes. However, the criminal Mario Amoretti clarified to The Republic that this would not be the case, since the sentence is not final because it can still be appealed. Therefore, the Board of Directors would be in a position to call Arias to occupy the seat.
