The facts of La Cantuta et al. v. Peru occurred in the context of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori’s anti-terrorism campaign. After Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle students protested against President Fujimori, Peruvian military forces, including members of the Colina Group, a paramilitary death squad, disappeared and extrajudicially executed nine students and a professor. Though several individuals were found guilty of human rights abuses against these victims, the State pardoned them under human rights amnesty laws. The Court’s decision dealt with both the State’s responsibility for the victims’ disappearance and murder, and its failure to hold those responsible accountable for their human rights violations.
Case Summary: La Cantuta et al. v. Peru, Case Summary