- Peruvian Military Court Voids Lori Berenson's Sentence, Civilian Trial Is Likely
Peru’s top military court yesterday granted a civilian retrial to Lori Berenson, the New York activist who has spent more than 5 years in a Peruvian prison. She is serving a life sentence after being convicted of “treason against the Fatherland” by a hooded military judge in 1996. The Peruvian regime claims she was helping the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement plan an assault on the Peruvian Congress. Berenson has consistently denied these charges.
- Political Prisoners in Peru
Lori Berenson is the only American political prisoner in Peru, but there are scores of Peruvians being held on political charges.
- Clinton's Trip to Africa
President Clinton flew to East Africa yesterday in hopes of witnessing a settlement to the civil war in Burundi, but negotiations stalled at the last minute, leaving Clinton to plead with rival factions for compromise.