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Tuesday, May 4, 2004<br><br>
To All Friends and Supporters of Lori Berenson:<br><br>
INTERNATIONAL COURT TO HOLD HEARINGS ON LORI'S CASE MAY 7 - 8<br><br>
On Thursday morning Rhoda and Mark will be leaving for San Jose,
Costa<br>
Rica to attend the hearings of the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights<br>
on Lori's case. Lori will be represented by her legal team led by
the<br>
former Attorney General of the United States Ramsey Clark, criminal
and<br>
international lawyer Thomas H. Nooter, and Peruvian lawyer Jose
Luis<br>
Sandoval Quesada. The Inter-American Court is the highest
legal<br>
authority in the western hemisphere and part of the Organization of<br>
American States (OAS). As a member state, Peru is bound by the
findings<br>
of this legal body and the administration of President Toledo has<br>
publicly stated it will abide by the Court's rulings. In April
2002,<br>
when the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the OAS<br>
unanimously ruled on Lori's behalf following four years of study
and<br>
hearings, Peru refused to abide because Commission decisions are
not<br>
binding. In July 2002, the Commission took the case to the Court
and in<br>
September 2002 the Court agreed to hear the case. Owing to a
backlog of<br>
other cases, finally, after 20 months, Lori's case will now be heard
in<br>
a public forum in San Jose. <br><br>
On Friday, May 7, Rhoda will be a witness and provide testimony on<br>
behalf of Lori. Former Peruvian Justice Minister Fausto Alvarado
Dodero<br>
will be giving testimony on behalf of the government of Peru. Each
of<br>
the seven international judges can ask questions of the witnesses,
as<br>
can the opposing parties. Closing arguments will take place
on<br>
Saturday, May 8. Lori provided a written affidavit to the
Court,<br>
answering 120 questions as witness for the Inter-American
Commission.<br>
Her oral responses were filmed and the videotape was given to the
Court.<br><br>
<br>
Final written arguments to the Court must be submitted by June 7.
The<br>
Court can then issue its decision at any time, although this is<br>
typically done during its quarterly meetings in San Jose and most<br>
decisions take between six months and a year.<br>
<br>
We expect the Inter-American Court to rule as it did in several
other<br>
cases regarding Peru and as the Inter-American Commission has
urged.<br>
Peru has wronged Lori through two illegal trials, the first in a<br>
military court and the second in a civilian court - both of which
failed<br>
to meet international standards of fairness and due process as
specified<br>
by the American Convention on Human Rights. For over a decade, Peru
has<br>
been told this time and again by the Inter-American Court and by
many<br>
other human rights organizations and yet it has continued to avoid<br>
making the necessary changes that will bring it into compliance
with<br>
international law. <br><br>
We are hoping for complete vindication. We seek justice from
this<br>
highest international legal authority in the western hemisphere and
we<br>
hope for a quick decision and for Lori's release.<br><br>
ARTICLE ON LORI'S CASE APPEARS IN "VILLAGE VOICE"<br><br>
Today the Village Voice ran article "Last Best Chance" written
by Nicole<br>
Karsin. To view this article, click on<br>
<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0418/karsin.php" eudora="autourl">http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0418/karsin.php<br><br>
</a>PETER YARROW AND TERRE ROCHE PERFORM IN FUNDRAISING EVENT <br><br>
Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary) and Terre Roche (of the
Roche<br>
Sisters) donated their time and talent to an extraordinary
fundraising<br>
event in Upper Montclair, New Jersey on Saturday afternoon, April
24.<br>
Over 250 people attended the event held at St. James Episcopal
Church.<br>
We are very grateful to Peter and Terre for their love and support
for<br>
Lori and for us. They are extraordinary human beings and
their<br>
compassion will be remembered by us for the rest of our lives.<br><br>
Rhoda and Mark Berenson<br>
English Website:
<a href="http://www.freelori.org /" eudora="autourl">www.freelori.org
</a> <br>
Spanish Website:
<a href="http://www.lorilibre.org/" eudora="autourl">www.lorilibre.org<br><br>
</a>PS If you no longer wish to receive the Lori
Updates and want to<br>
unsubscribe, please send email to<br>
announcements-list-request@freelori.org with a subject line
of<br>
"unsubscribe." <br><br>
<br>
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