(IPYS/IFEX) – On 23 May 2000, IPYS reported that just days before the second round of elections called by the National Elections Board to elect the president of Peru (scheduled for 28 May), two members of the Public Ministry obstructed the archiving of a penal action against the El Comercio Publishing Company for alleged misuse […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 23 May 2000, IPYS reported that just days before the second round of elections called by the National Elections Board to elect the president of Peru (scheduled for 28 May), two members of the Public Ministry obstructed the archiving of a penal action against the El Comercio Publishing Company for alleged misuse of preferential MUC (Mercado Único de Cambios) exchange rate dollars, during the years 1989 and 1990.
On 20 March, IPYS distributed an alert about the investigation that the ad hoc prosecutor in the MUC dollars case, Jorge Sanz Quiroz, initiated against the newspaper “El Comercio” for the alleged misuse of the preferential exchange. The case was initiated on the basis of declarations
made by Luis García Miro Elguera, former shareholder and former general manager of the publishing company. In a 31 March resolution, the prosecutor indicated that there had been no criminal responsibility as “there did not exist the elements of proof nor valid indicators” to presume that the directors of “El Comercio” could have committed any offence in the use of said foreign exchange and “that the penal action was in violation of the limitation period,” as more than ten years had passed. As one would assume, under those circumstances, prosecutor Sanz Quiroz ordered the case to be archived.
However, after having refused an initial appeal (recourse for complaint) presented on 5 April by the attorney for the Ministry of Industry, Carlos Paredes Lovera, the prosecutor changed his mind and admitted a second appeal, presented on 24 April, to a higher court.
It is surprising that prosecutor Sanz admitted the recourse to appeal presented by the attorney, as the prosecutor himself had ordered the action to be withdrawn and the attorney is not a plaintiff, nor a complainant or a party in the civil action. Subsequently, on 4 May, attorney Paredes Lovera presented a document to the Office of the Public Prosecutor withdrawing the second level appeal. As a result, the file should have been immediately archived, thus concluding the matter. Nevertheless, more than two weeks have passed and the proceeding continues to be retained.
Furthermore, the office of the prosecution for tax felonies, directed by Dr. Hilda Valladares (the same prosecutor assigned to the cases of Baruch Ivcher and Delgado Parker, as well as other high-profile and politicised cases), has accepted a new accusation against two minority shareholders of the El Comercio Publishing Company (who hold 0.57% of the total shares). These accusations relate to the same alleged crime of misuse of the MUC dollars, which, as has been indicated, is a case which exceeds the limitation period and should be archived immediately.
In a 23 May statement, the “El Comercio” newspaper emphatically protested such attempts to manipulate and intimidate the newspaper, and demanded that the government cease the judicial pressures. At the same time, it affirmed that none of these actions have affected, nor will they affect the independent and pluralist position that the newspaper has maintained throughout its existence.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
– asking for an impartial process and demanding that a stop be put to the pressures against the “El Comercio” newspaper
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
Ing. Alberto Fujimori Fujimori
President of the Republic
Fax: +51 1 427 6722 / 426 6535
Alberto Bustamante Belaunde
President of the Council of Ministers
Fax: +51 1 447 1628 / 475 0689
Martha Hildebrandt Pérez
President of Congress
Fax: +51 1 426 8290
Blanca Nélida Colán
Attorney General
Fax: +51 1 426 2474
Víctor Raúl Castillo Castillo
President of the Peruvian Supreme Court
Fax: +51 1 428 0803
Jorge Santistevan de Noriega
Ombudsman
Fax: +51 1 426 6657
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
