The Peruvian government was more likely to use lethal violence in marginalized areas of the country as part of its crackdown on recent anti-government protests, a report by rights group Amnesty International has found.
Thursday’s report, “Lethal racism,” alleges the government’s actions may constitute extrajudicial executions in some cases. Amnesty calls for the Peruvian Attorney General’s Office to investigate the use of excessive force in response to the protests.
The report is the latest to find that Peru’s government wielded disproportionate violence and targeted people from poor and Indigenous backgrounds during the protests that enveloped the country following the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo.
Amnesty’s report analyzed 52 documented cases of people killed or wounded in areas such as Ayacucho, Juliaca, Andahuaylas and Chincheros, including 25 deaths.
The organization concluded that 20 of those 25 slayings could constitute extrajudicial executions. They involved cases where security forces used live fire on crowds and aimed at vulnerable parts of the body such as the head, neck and abdomen.
When faced with criticism and calls for accountability, Peruvian authorities have often framed protesters as agitators looking to create disorder.
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