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Rhoda Berenson Talks About Her Daughter Lori’s Continuing Imprisonment

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On Dec. 1, 1995, Rhoda Berenson received a call from the Peru desk at the State Department, informing her that her26-year-old daughter, Lori, had been arrested in Lima. Six weeks later a hooded, anonymous judge found Lori guilty oftreason and sentenced her to life in prison. Though the military conviction was overturned in August, Lori Berensonis still in prison, awaiting a civilian trial on charges of terrorism that could lead to a 20-year sentence.

In a report released last month, a Peruvian prosecutor concluded that Berenson had not been a member of the TupacAmaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) rebel group.

Berenson’s defense lawyer, Jose Sandoval, said that the prosecutor’s report found “there are elements whichincriminate (Berenson) as a collaborator with, but not as a member of, the MRTA.”

Now that the prosecutor has reported, it will eventually fall to a senior prosecutor to decide how to proceed withthe case.

Rhoda Berenson has written the story of Lori’s incarceration and efforts to free her in ??Lori: My Daughter,Wrongfully Imprisoned in Peru. (Context Books).

Guest:

  • Rhoda Berenson, retired physics professor, leader of a campaign to free her daughter.

Related Story

StoryJan 04, 2016Lori Berenson After Being Held 20 Years in Peru: “My Objectives Were to Achieve a More Just Society”
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