The Fourth Specialized Temporary Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice sentenced Raúl Hebert Manyari Castellares, a retired officer of the National Police, to 15 years in prison for the disappearance of journalist Hilario Ayuque Zúñiga, an event that took place in 1984, in Huancavelica.
Said instance of the Judicial Power found Manyari Castellares responsible as the author of the crime of enforced disappearance and ordered the payment of S/ 150 thousand as civil compensationas well as the disqualification to obtain a mandate, position, employment or commission of a public nature for five years.
In the oral trial, the superior prosecutor Luis Enrique Valdivia Calderón, in charge of the case, was able to prove that the sentenced person was the direct author of the disappearance of Hilario Ayuque Zúñiga, who worked as a librarian in the Provincial Municipality of Huancavelica, as well as journalistic correspondent and union leader.
To support the prosecutor’s accusation, the representative of the Public Ministry confirmed that the sentenced person was part of the incursion that deprived the victim of his freedom, an event that occurred at the home of Ayuque on September 20, 1984.
Despite this, the then Republican Guard officer did not comply with his duty to provide the necessary information to cease Ayuque Zúñiga’s status as a disappeared person, thus configuring the criminal category of forced disappearance.
Lastly, the Judiciary declared the request made by the superior prosecutor regarding the search for the remains of Hilario Ayuque well founded, ordering that the State adopt all the necessary measures for the exploration, exhumation, identification, and dignified restitution of the remains to his next of kin.
According to the Public Ministry, said measure must be carried out in compliance with international standards in cases of forced disappearance.
