On February 6, 1993, Mr. Luis Alberto Cantoral Benavides was detained without an arrest warrant issued by a competent authority, and accused of committing treason. He was physically and mentally tortured. Mr. Cantoral Benavides was acquitted of treason in a military tribunal, but retried for the same alleged crime in a civilian court, where he was convicted. Mr. Cantoral Benavides was not released after his acquittal in the military jurisdiction, as the State released his twin brother, who was also wrongfully accused of treason, instead. Mr. Cantoral Benavides was continually tortured for four years in various prisons, until he was released by an ad hoc committee, after his case had reached the Inter-American Court. The Court found that the State violated the American Convention on Human Rights and the American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture.
Case Summary: Cantoral Benavides v. Peru, Case Summary