The once-imprisoned U.S. activist Lori Berenson is returning home from Peru, where she was imprisoned for nearly two decades. She was released on parole in 2010 but was barred from leaving Peru for good until her sentence expired on Sunday. Berenson was convicted in 1996 of helping the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement plan an assault on the Peruvian Congress. Berenson was tried by a hooded military judge, and prosecutors used secret evidence against her. Democracy Now! was the first to interview Berenson and broadcast her voice to the public after she was sentenced, and has long covered her case. Here’s an excerpt of our exclusive 1999 interview with Berenson in the Socabaya prison in the Andes Mountains.

Amy Goodman: “Did they present any evidence at the trial?”

Lori Berenson: “No. In the actual trial? No, absolutely nothing.”

Amy Goodman: “Are you innocent of the charges?”

Lori Berenson: “Yes, of the charges. Yes, I’m innocent of all the charges they’ve made against me.”

Amy Goodman: “Which brings us to the U.S. and what the U.S. is doing here around your case, the U.S. government. What is the U.S. doing? Are they helping?”

Lori Berenson: “There has been some pressure at certain times, but not heavy pressure. Not heavy enough pressure, at least, because I’m still here.”

Amy Goodman: “Do you think if they did put pressure, you wouldn’t be here? I mean, the U.S. administration?”

Lori Berenson: “I mean, I think, in the sense of more than the Congress in itself. I mean, all the military aid they give them and that kind of support and the patting on the back of Fujimori every time that he does anything. I think he feels like he’s fine.”