"Berenson is paroled by judge in Peru; Activist had been jailed since ’95" by Associated Press | May 26, 2010
LIMA — A judge yesterday granted parole to Lori Berenson, a 40-year-old New York activist who has spent 15 years in Peruvian prisons for aiding leftist rebels.... but said she cannot leave Peru until her 20-year sentence for terrorist collaboration ends in November 2015.
Berenson, who gave birth to a son a year ago, nodded assent but did not speak when asked by the judge whether she accepted the decision.
“I’m happy with the sentence because justice was done,’’ said her lawyer, Anibal Apari, who is also father of Berenson’s child, Salvador.
Apari said Berenson, whom he met in prison and married in 2003, would be freed within 24 hours. Their child has been living with his mother in prison since his birth last May.
So when does the movie come out?
Apari is a former member of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or MRTA, the now-defunct leftist band of which Berenson was convicted of helping.
So which government intelligence agency was behind that group?
The judge’s decision said Berenson had “completed reeducation, rehabilitation, and resocialization,’’ and demonstrated “positive behavior.’’
Sounds like torture did the trick.
Berenson had said in her parole request that she planned to work as a translator if released.
Berenson dropped out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989 to pursue a passion for social justice. After working in Central America, she traveled to Peru in 1994.
In other words, a terrorist -- like the FreeGaza people!
Berenson was arrested in 1995 and accused of aiding Tupac Amaru, which bombed banks and kidnapped and killed civilians.
Oh, I don't like the smell of that!!!
Revolutionaries don't kill civilians; it gives them a terrible name and leads to the destruction of the organization.
If you want to destroy and revolution, however, it's a pretty nifty false-flag to wave.
Think Operation Gladio when you here of right-wing or leftist terrorists, folks.
--more--"
Related: CIA Scandal Erupts
"The sources of funding for the terrorist groups are largely unknown. Some governments secretly provide aid in the form of weapons, training, and money to the terrorist groups. Money is also raised through criminal activities such as, theft or drug trafficking.... Peru has witnessed attacks by Leftist terrorist groups called Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement.
--source--"
Little Lori a duped patsy?
Lori Berenson arrived at her new home yesterday in Lima surround by journalists. She served nearly 15 years in prison. (Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)
LIMA — New Yorker Lori Berenson walked out of a Peruvian prison with a smile on her face yesterday, then pushed through a mob of reporters before settling into a neighborhood that met her with hostility.
“Go away, terrorist!’’ one of her new neighbors shouted.
Now 40, she looked smaller, more austere, than the strident young activist who nearly 15 years ago shouted that the leftist rebels she was accused of aiding were not terrorists but revolutionaries.
She now has a young son and a bad back; her once-flailing hair is now tamed in a long braid....
Many Peruvians expressed displeasure, even anger, at Berenson’s release.
“I think terrorists like Lori don’t repent in this country,’’ said Maria Castillo, 39, the wife of a police officer. “The terrorism prisoners never change because they are jailed for their ideals.’’
The Miraflores district mayor, Manuel Macias, said Berenson should find a home elsewhere: “The way out of this perhaps is for her expulsion from the country.’’
That could happen....
Berenson’s release yesterday from Santa Monica women’s prison was a tempest in itself. She squeezed through a horde of reporters into a car that her husband and attorney, Anibal Apari, drove to the Miraflores apartment. Two Peruvian reporters jumped into the car, which had a minor collision a block away with a TV channel’s vehicle.
Outside the apartment, Berenson appeared calm, almost bemused, as she sat for some five minutes in Apari’s car, surrounded by journalists. She wore dangling bead earrings, a khaki green button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and carried a black bag with blue straps.
Her son, Salvador, has been living with her since his birth a year ago. He was taken to the fifth-floor apartment separately by Berenson’s parents, Mark and Rhoda, who flew in from New York City on Wednesday.--more--"
Related filler: Holloway suspect sought in Peru killing
