Protect The Protest
Urge the Attorney General in Peru to properly investigate the use of force by police during protests between December 2022 and February 2023.
Thousands of people took to the streets across Peru between December 2022 and February 2023 following the arrest and replacement of then-president Pedro Castillo. Even though the protests were overwhelmingly peaceful, the police and army responded by opening fire with live ammunition, as well as shooting tear gas cannisters and metal pellets at close range – with predictably lethal consequences.
At least, 49 people were killed and more than a thousand were injured, including bystanders and people seeking to help the wounded. Amnesty’s investigation concludes that the repression was not only unlawful. It was racist because it disproportionately targeted Indigenous people and campesinos (rural farm workers), who have historically suffered discrimination, unequal access to political participation and the denial of their human rights.
Learn More
Canada must stop arms exports to Peru amid deadly repression of protests (May 3)
Peru protests: 100 days later, racist repression and slow investigations continue (March 18, 2023)
Deadly repression of Peru protests shows ‘systematic racism’ (February 16, 2023)
Top image: Riot police fires tear gas at demonstrators during a protest against the government of President Dina Boluarte, in Lima on January 20, 2023. Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images.
