The events of instant case refer to the extrajudicial execution, torture and mistreatment of prisoners in the two pavilions of Miguel Castro Castro penitentiary, a maximum-security prison, who were mostly serving sentences for terrorist acts.

The massacre that took place in May 1992 was developed under the protection of the so-called “Operativo Mudanza”. During the operation, State agents from both the police and army used weapons of war, tear gas bombs and immobilizing gas against the prisoners, initiating the action on the day of female visits to the prison. The survivors were forced to remain in the prison areas called “no-man’s land” and “admission,” lying face down on the ground, without shelter and receiving constant beatings and assaults for several days until their transfer to other penitentiaries. Once they were relocated, the beatings and malnutrition continued and many of the wounded did not receive adequate and timely medical attention.

The IA Court established standards regarding the excessive use of force used in carrying out this operation, due to the torture and abuse which the prisoners were subjected to, and made special reference to gender violence. In this respect, the IA Court took into consideration the distinct way in which the events affected the women, noting that the way in which the State violated rights could also have had the objective of causing a social effect.

Furthermore, the Court considered that during the 80s and towards the end of 2000, Peru experienced a conflict between armed groups and military and police officers. This conflict was exacerbated by a systematic practice of human rights violations, among them extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances of people suspected of belonging to opposition political groups, which were carried out by State agents following orders of police and military leaders.