The Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Islay, Arequipa, closed 7 of the more than 40 open criminal investigations against about 20 residents of the Tambo Valleywho participated in protest measures against the Tía María mining project in February of last year.
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The director of the Ecumenical Federation for Development and Peace (Fedepaz), David Velazco Rondónwho represents part of those investigated, reported that such a large number of investigations responded to the implementation of a systematic government practice of criminalizing human rights and environmental defendersaccusing them of alleged crimes against means of transportation, riots.
He indicated that Those investigated were farmers, transporters, teachers and residents in general. who oppose the Tía María mining project who participated in the indefinite strike that began on February 18, 2025, in the Tambo Valley with different peaceful demonstrations such as marches, sit-ins, etc.
“However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Internal Order of the Ministry of the Interior denounced the false commission of crimes by the protesters and the Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Islay in response to said complaints and, also, ex officio decided to open investigations against different residents, despite the fact that there were no direct accusations against them, to the point that the Prosecutor’s Office indicated in all the investigations that they directed them against those who were responsible. That is, there were no direct accusations, but they always cited the same residents to testify,” he said.
Velazco highlighted that the Prosecutor’s Office archived 7 investigations into alleged 9 criminal acts that would have occurred between February 24, 2025 and March 21, 2025, having indicated in its arguments that since it is not possible to “introduce data on the alleged perpetrators through other investigative acts”, in addition to there being no witnesses to the events, “the archiving” of said investigations must be ordered.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that these false accusations and openings of criminal investigations against human rights and environmental defenders violate their rights as citizens, given that the right to organize and make requests for dialogue or even carry out peaceful public protests is recognized in international treaties for the protection of human rights and in the Political Constitution of Peru itself,” the lawyer highlighted.
He added that “the prosecutor’s decision to archive all these tax investigations, with the argument of not having obtained proof of the identity of the alleged criminal perpetrators, demonstrates the existence of an arbitrary government decision to unjustly criminalize defenders of the environment and human rights and even without there being any indication, let alone any proof, of criminal responsibility against them.”
He questioned that the Peruvian government “through its public prosecutor’s offices and the Provincial Corporate Criminal Prosecutor’s Office of Islay, request and initiate processes, within what we consider to be a strategy of intimidation against human rights and environmental defenders of the Tambo Valley so that they do not protest or oppose the aforementioned mining project; an action that must be rejected and condemned for being contrary to a State that guarantees and respects rights.”
