Autopsies of 17 corpses in Puno reveal the impact of a firearm projectile, says head of Legal Medicine

Prosecutor of Peru begins preliminary investigation against Boluarte 1:45

(CNN Spanish) --

After the investigations and autopsies carried out on the bodies of the 17 civilians killed in the demonstrations in Puno, Peru, the head of Legal Medicine for the city of Juliaca, Dr. Edward Mena, said that all the corpses had impacts from firearm projectiles.

Mena specified in statements to the press released by the Public Ministry that, given the lack of a laboratory in Puno, they had to request the support of personnel and supplies from the capital of the country to continue with the investigations, which included x-rays, absorption tests atomic energy and the recovery of the projectiles.

• Peru Prosecutor's Office initiates preliminary investigation against President Boluarte: what crimes are they accusing her of?

He also explained that all the remains had been delivered to the relatives and urged them not to be carried away by the versions that indicate that the evidence was being manipulated to exonerate the alleged perpetrators from guilt.

The National Prosecutor's Office announced that a preliminary investigation has been opened against President Dina Boluarte and a series of ministers and former ministers for their alleged responsibility for the deaths of civilians in the protests that followed the dismissal of Pedro Castillo as president, which occurred on December 7, during which there have been clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.

The Prosecutor of the Nation, Patricia Benavides, pointed out that the cases of the deaths in Puno are added as a second folder to those that already occurred in December of last year in the cities of Ayacucho and Andahuaylas, in the center of the country.

advertising

• The latest protests in Peru leave 17 dead in Puno

CNN consulted the Press Secretary of the Government Palace of Peru, which indicated that the president maintains the same response that she made when the prosecutor opened the first investigation folder for the first wave of deaths after the start of the protests on December 7 in the country.

On Friday, the Presidency of Peru published on Twitter: "President Dina Boluarte welcomes the decision of the Prosecutor's Office to initiate preliminary proceedings regarding the events that occurred during the demonstrations of December 2022. Likewise, she assures that she will give all the corresponding facilities to prompt clarification of the facts, as has been requested on several occasions.”

protests