Amnesty accuses Peruvian authorities of ‘marked racist bias’ in protest crackdown

Amnesty International has accused Peruvian authorities of acting with “a marked racist bias” in its crackdown on protests that have roiled the country since December, saying “populations that have historically been discriminated against” are being targeted, according to a report released on Thursday.

Drawing on data from the Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office, Amnesty says it “found that the number of possible arbitrary deaths due to state repression” were “disproportionately concentrated in regions with largely Indigenous populations.”

Amnesty also says that areas with majority indigenous populations have accounted for the majority of deaths since the protests began. “While the regions with majority Indigenous populations represent only 13% of Peru’s total population, they account for 80% of the total deaths registered since the crisis began,” Amnesty wrote.

The Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the report, telling CNN that there is an ongoing investigation being carried out by the country’s public prosecutor office, with which they are collaborating.

“Not only have we delivered all the requested information, but we have supported the transfer of (the public prosecutor’s) personnel (experts and prosecutors) to the area so that they can carry out their work. The Ministry of Defense is awaiting the results of the investigations,” the ministry’s spokesperson added.