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Guilty verdict in Berenson case

Berenson was sentenced to 20 years in prison in her retrial of helping leftist guerrillas plot to take over Peru's Congress in 1995

By Harris Whitbeck
CNN Mexico City Bureau Chief

TOPLINE: U.S. citizen Lori Berenson, held in Peru since 1995 on terrorism charges, was found guilty by a special civilian terrorism court on Wednesday in Lima and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Berenson was accused of helping plan a foiled attempt by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement to attack the Peruvian Congress.

IN CONTEXT: Berenson, a native of New York, was arrested in 1995 when security forces raided a house she had rented in suburban Lima and found weapons, explosives and a detailed plan of the Peruvian congress. Berenson was living with members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement at the time, but she insists she did not know her housemates were suspected terrorists.

She said she was in Peru working as a free-lance journalist for leftist publications.

Berenson was charged with helping plan a foiled attempt by the Tupac Amaru to attack the Peruvian congress. A secret military tribunal convicted her in 1996 and sentenced her to life in prison. She was transferred to a desolate maximum-security prison in Yanomano, Peru, high in the Peruvian Andes. At the time, then-President Alberto Fujimori was waging a fierce war against rebel groups. Berenson's capture was trumpeted as one of the great successes in the fight against terrorism. But questions on the fairness of Berenson's trial quickly arose. The trial was conducted by hooded judges in a secret courtroom, and according to reports, Berenson was never allowed to properly consult with her defense attorney.

• Key players • Bottom line

Last year, following years of pressure from Berenson's parents, international human rights groups and other governments, a military court overturned her life sentence and a civilian court was ordered to retry the case. At the time Fujimori was under intense pressure to clean up his image after the presidential elections in which he won an unprecedented third term in office were declared fraudulent by international observers. Fujimori fled the country last October and resigned from Japan, where he has been living since. Berenson's new trial began this past March.

But the new trial also attracted criticism. Berenson's parents, Rhoda and Mark, said it too has been flawed, and accused judges of bias and of acting as prosecutors. The Peruvian justice system does not allow trial by jury and judges are allowed to cross-examine witnesses. Several international bodies, including the Organization of American States, have said that in its current state, the Peruvian justice system is not capable of conducting fair trials.

KEY PLAYERS:

Lori Berenson -- 31-year-old native of New York, accused of terrorism by Peruvian prosecutors

Rhoda and Mark Berenson -- Lori's parents, have waged an intense public relations battle on their daughter's behalf since her detention in 1995

Alberto Fujimori -- Disgraced former President under whose regime Berenson was tried and convicted to life in prison by a secret military tribunal.

Marcos Ibazeta -- Chief judge in the case, accused by Berenson's parents of bias. A move by the defense to remove the judge from the case was rejected by the court.

Alejandro Toledo -- Newly elected president of Peru, expected to visit Washington in early July. He has said he expects the Berenson case to be high on his agenda during talks with US officials.

BOTTOM LINE: Supporters say there was much more at stake than Berenson's conviction. They saw the trial as a good opportunity for the incoming Toledo administration to differentiate itself from the questionable practices of its predecessor. Berenson's detractors, which include a large part of Peruvian public opinion, say jailing her is a just sentence.