August 26 2003

A Christian widower has been reunited with his seven children after spending almost eight years of a ten year sentence in prison.

Julian Jorge Godoy, 42, is from a small village in rural Ayacucho, 400km south east of the capital Lima. From 1986 to 1987, as he was one of the few villagers who could read and write, he acted as Lieutenant Governor of the community, until the Shining Path guerrillas swept into the area and took over the town.

The guerrillas appointed him 'commissariat', a position he was unable to reject as it would have meant death not only for him but also for his wife and young children. Like others in the town, he was also forced to attend the guerrilla ideological meetings.

Julian wanted to escape but it was made practically impossible because the guerrillas controlled the entire region. However in 1991, Julian and his family managed to flee to Huamanga, the capital city of Ayacucho District.

In 1995 when a captured Shining Path terrorist accused Julian of participating in subversive activities, he voluntarily presented himself to the police station believing that when they heard his story they would understand what had happened to him. He was detained for 11 days and tortured for five of those days.

He was sentenced to six years in prison but after an appeal this was extended to ten years even though he had been considered an exemplary prisoner.

His family suffered yet another tragedy when his wife was hit by a car and instantly killed. Their seven children, ranging from four to 16 years old, were looked after by their impoverished 74-year-old grandmother in Julian's absence.

The Peru based human rights organisation, Paz y Esperanza (Peace and Hope), a Christian Solidarity Worldwide partner, took up Julian's case, petitioning for an emergency release on humanitarian grounds pointing to the serious situation of his family. He was represented by another former prisoner, Wuille Ruiz Figueroa, who spent five years in prison before being declared innocent.

CSW has visited Julian in the Ayacucho prison for three years – a delegation visited the area in July and was delighted to find Julian a free man. He expressed his appreciation for the CSW campaign run on his behalf and said that he was now in the process of rebuilding his house, which had fallen down in his absence, so that he and his children could all live together as a family once more. In response, CSW supporters visiting with a staff delegation took a collection and offered Julian $120 to buy a new roof.

While in prison Julian shared a cell with another CSW-supported former prisoner turned prison minister, Julio Cusihuaman Ccorahua. According to Julio, the two often prayed together and after his release, Julio regularly visited Julian's children bringing much needed food and clothing.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide said: "It was an honour to meet Julian and two of his children in July. I was pleased to learn that after so many years, the Peruvian justice system was able to treat this man and his children with compassion.

"We will continue to work with Paz y Esperanza to campaign for the freedom of those innocent people remaining behind bars in Peru."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

In the 1990's ex-President Alberto Fujimori put into place emergency terrorist laws to eradicate terrorist groups such as El Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) from Peru. He implemented a system of arbitrary detainment and 'faceless judges'. Thousands of civilians were picked up by the military or the police. Throughout these years attending a particular university or living in a certain area were enough 'evidence' to arrest a person. Some were never seen again. Others suffered severe torture and were denied any legal counsel. Often their families were threatened as well in an effort to force them to 'confess'.

President Toledo of Peru has signed the release papers of a number of wrongly-convicted prisoners. At the beginning of 2002 he took the unprecedented step of apologising in person to the 726 people who have already been released.