A Peruvian court has sentenced a former military official to 18 years in prison for the forced disappearance and murder of civilians, including a journalist, 40 years ago. These crimes took place during the armed conflict against the Shining Path Maoist guerrillas. Judge Miluska Cano of the Fourth Criminal Court in Lima sentenced “Alberto Rivero Valdeavellano to 18 years in prison for the forced disappearance of journalist Jaime Ayala Sulca and others”.
She also found him guilty “aggravated homicide against a group of people”according to the sentence, read during a public hearing broadcast by the judicial power television channel. The former frigate captain, who pleaded his innocence during the trial, was not present at the hearing.
In the same case, ex-lieutenant Augusto Gabilondo Garcia del Barco was convicted in absentia and an international arrest warrant against him was issued, after an appeal was rejected. However, the details of his conviction have not been communicated, according to Peruvian media. He was arrested in 2022 in Malaga, Spain, but was released on bail pending extradition.
Both were accused of the murder of 17 evangelists, the disappearance of 50 people found in mass graves, and the detention and disappearance of journalist Jaime Ayala Sulca. These crimes took place in 1984 in the province of Huanta, in southeastern Peru, stronghold of the Shining Path. Jaime Ayala Sulca, radio journalist and newspaper member At the Republic in Huanta, disappeared in August 1984.
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