Peru reopens probe into mass sterilisations - rights groups [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Peru reopens probe into mass sterilisations - rights groups
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Thu, 14 May 2015 17:53 GMT

By Anastasia Moloney

BOGOTA, May 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A top law enforcement official in Peru has ordered the reopening and expansion of a criminal investigation into the alleged forced sterilisation of thousands of indigenous people.

During the 1990s, nearly 350,000 women and 25,000 men were sterilised during a programme led by the government of former president Alberto Fujimori to reduce the birth rate. The programme focused on indigenous and poor people in rural areas of Peru.

Some 2,073 women have given statements to local and international rights groups saying that they had their tubes tied without their knowledge or consent, and at least 18 women died as a result of the surgery.

In January 2014, shortly after learning that Peru had closed an investigation into the sterilisation program and had cleared Fujimori and others in his government by saying no crimes against humanity had been committed, human rights groups filed a complaint.

More:
http://www.trust.org/item/20150514175414-7c2dr/