In December 1996, fourteen members of the terrorist group Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement raided the Japanese ambassador's home in Lima, Peru, as a reception was underway. The Tupacs took hostage the approximately 600 guests in attendance, and occupied the residence for the next four months. On April 22, 1997, State armed forces raided the compound, killing fourteen terrorists, and liberating the remaining hostages. As this event was part of a non-international armed conflict, rules of international humanitarian law, such as Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions applied to the situation. While the majority of the terrorists were lawfully targeted and killed, evidence surfaced that three may have been captured alive by the State, and then subsequently killed, in contravention of Common Article 3. The Court also faulted the State for failing to adequately investigate the crime scene and deaths of these individuals in a timely manner. For these reasons, the Court found that the State had violated the American Convention on Human Rights.
Case Summary: Cruz Sánchez et al. v. Peru, Case Summary