According to a decree that was published by the official newspaper “El Peruano” on Tuesday, the government of Peru is providing families who lost a relative during the country’s protests between December 8 and February 10 with almost $13,000 in financial assistance.
According to the ruling, the injured will receive half of this amount, or $6,500 US dollars (25,000 nuevos soles), while each family will receive around $13,000 US dollars (50,000 nuevos soles).
The directive also states that the payments are not regarded as reparations but rather as financial assistance for civilians and police officers.
Amnesty International criticized the government for not taking responsibility for the deaths in a statement.
“Economic assistance to the people killed and injured is a duty by the State due to the families’ patrimonial affectation but does not exempt (the state) of the responsibility to look for truth, justice, and reparation for the victims for the abuse of their human rights,” it wrote on Twitter.
As CNN first reported, Peruvian families have demanded reparations for deaths and injuries around the protests since former President Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested in December. His removal from office sparked the demonstrations amid deep dissatisfaction over living conditions and inequality in the country.
There has been at least 60 protest-related deaths, according to Peru’s Ombudsman’s office, including one police officer. Most of those deaths happened outside Lima. As of February 22, seven people died in Apurimac, ten in Ayacucho and twenty in Puno for example, according to the same organization.
The government’s announcement comes after a preliminary report released by Amnesty International accused Peruvian authorities of acting with “a marked racist bias” in its crackdown on the protests last week.
The human rights group also accused Peruvian security forces of using firearms with lethal ammunition “as one of their primary methods of dispersing demonstrations, even when there was no apparent risk to the lives of others” – a violation of international human rights standards.
CNN reached out to the Ministry of Defense and Interior for comment on the Amnesty International report and the allegations of excessive use of force against protesters. The Ministry of Defense declined to comment and told CNN there is an ongoing investigation by Peru’s Prosecutor Office with which they are collaborating.
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry also declined to comment, highlighting the ongoing investigation by the prosecutor’s office.