Peru: Whether officers of the Anti-terrorism Directorate (Dirección Contra el Terrorismo, DIRCOTE), formerly known as the National Anti-terrorism Directorate (Dirección Nacional Contra el Terrorismo, DINCOTE), rape and torture leftists with impunity; the present situation of DIRCOTE officers
Although no information on incidents of rape or torture involving officers of the Anti-terrorism Directorate (Dirección Contra el Terrorismo, DIRCOTE), formerly known as the National Anti-terrorism Directorate (Dirección Nacional Contra el Terrorismo, DINCOTE), could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claim that torture by state agents remains a problem in Peru (AI 2003; HRW Jan.2004).
Only one incident of alleged wrongdoing by DIRCOTE officers since December 2002 could be found among the sources consulted (Correo 16 Sept. 2003; ibid. 17 Sept. 2003). In September 2003, Minister of Interior Fernando Rospigliosi ordered an investigation of police officers, including an unspecified number of DIRCOTE members, who had allegedly intercepted telephone conversations and engaged in surveillance activities on behalf of the private security firms All Security and Acontrol (ibid. 16 Sept. 2003). The Lima newspaper Correo reported that one of the accused officers, former DIRCOTE member Walter Capa Urbillón, had used equipment donated by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to monitor telephone conversations (ibid. 17 Sept. 2003).
A number of articles published in 2003 refer to the situation of the DIRCOTE and its personnel. Examples follow.
In June 2003, the head of the DIRCOTE, General Marco Miyashiro, stated that the Directorate's budget was insufficient to deal with the resurgence of terrorist activities (Correo 26 June 2003). According to Miyashiro, additional funding was needed to reinforce bases in the Ene and Apurímac valleys, as well to hire 25 officers to carry out investigations and gather evidence in connection with the decision to retry individuals convicted of insurgency-related offences by military tribunals (ibid.).
On 18 July 2003, criminals fleeing police in Lima's Surco district stole the pick-up truck of DIRCOTE Major José Ríos Beltrán, forcing him to get out of his vehicle at gunpoint (ibid. 19 July 2003). The truck was later found abandoned (ibid.).
On 3 September 2003, the Lima newspaper El Comercio reported that Antonio Ketín Vidal, former interior minister and head of the DINCOTE, had characterized as totally false (totalmente falso) the finding by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación, CVR) that he had covered up the illegal detention of businessman Samuel Dyer in the Army Intelligence Service (Servicio de Inteligencia del Ejército, SIE) headquarters' basement. He further indicated that SIE officers were responsible for Dyer's detention and that the DINCOTE's role in the operation was purely technical (técnica) (El Comercio 3 Sept. 2003).
In October 2003, the Permanent Congressional Commission (Comisión Permanente del Congreso) endorsed a sub-committee's report calling upon the Office of the Attorney General (Ministerio Público) to investigate former members of the DINCOTE, along with those of other intelligence services, who may have known of the mistreatment of detainees in the SIE headquarters in 1992 (CAJ Oct. 2003). No information on whether the Office of the Attorney General launched such an investigation could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Amnesty International (AI). 2003. Amnesty International Report 2003. <http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Per-summary-eng> [Accessed 8 Jan. 2004]
El Comercio [Lima]. 3 September 2003. "Ketín Vidal niega que haya encubierto secuestro de empresario Dyer." <http://www.elcomercioperu.com.pe/online/html/2003%2D09%2D02/onllima0048066.html> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2004]
Comisión Andina de Juristas (CAJ). October 2003. Cronología Andina. "Perú-Octubre 2003." <http://www.cajpe.org.pe/cronolog/novperu7.htm> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2004]
Correo [Lima]. 17 September 2003. "Policías implicados en supuesta interceptación están en actividad." <http://anteriores.epensa.com.pe/enlinea/ediciones/2003/set/17/ politica/pol03.asp> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2004]
_____. 16 September 2003. "Interior investiga supuesto chuponeo de policías en actividad." <http://anteriores.epensa.com.pe/enlinea/ediciones/2003/set/16/ politica/pol01.asp> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2004]
_____. 19 July 2003. "En persecución hampones roban vehículo de oficial de Dircote." <http://anteriores.epensa.com.pe/enlinea/ediciones/2003/jul/19/ locales/loc04.asp> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2004]
_____. 26 June 2003. "Dircote necesita S/.2 millones para afrontar nuevos juicios a subversivos." <http://anteriores.epensa.com.pe/enlinea/ediciones/2003/jun/26/ politica/pol16.asp> [Accessed 7 Jan. 2004]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). January 2004. Human Rights Watch World Report 2004. <http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/01/21/peru6988.htm> [Accessed 27 Jan. 2004]
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
Internet sites, including:
24 Horas [Lima]. 2003-2004
Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH)
El Comercio 2003-2004
Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos
Cronología Andina [Lima]. "Perú." Dec. 2002-Nov. 2003
Defensoría del Pueblo
Ministerio del Interior
World News Connection (WNC)