14 administration,” “reorganize the judiciary as a whole,” and “bring peace to the country, within a legal 40 framework that severely punishes terrorists.” One of the elements used to justify the breakdown in legality was the alleged over-indulgent attitude of the judiciary in terrorism trials which, in the words of the President, caused “the mass release of convicted and confessed terrorists, through the misuse of the so41 called conscience criterion.” 76. By means of Decree Law No. 25418 of April 6, 1992, Alberto Fujimori established the “Emergency and National Reconstruction Government,” temporarily dissolved Congress, and intervened in the judiciary, the Public Prosecution Service, and the office of the Comptroller General of the Republic. The intervention in those state agencies was carried out by sending the armed forces to occupy their installations and by placing opposition members of Congress and ranking officials opposed to the 42 breakdown in the constitutional order under house arrest. 77. In this context, the Emergency and National Reconstruction Government enacted a series of decree laws that established, within the Peruvian legal system, special procedures for investigating, bringing charges against, and prosecuting people accused of terrorism or treason against the fatherland. On May 5, 1992, Decree Law No. 25475 was enacted, which defined the different forms 43 the crime of terrorism could take. On August 7 of that year, Decree Law No. 25659 was enacted, defining the offense of treason against the fatherland and awarding competence over crimes of that type 44 to the military justice system. These decrees, along with Nos. 25708, 25744, 25880, and other additional provisions, made up what was known as the antiterrorist legislation. 78. Among other aspects, those decrees established conditions of total incommunicado detention for arrestees, prohibited them from receiving the assistance of counsel prior to giving their first statements to a representative of the Public Prosecution Service, allowed judges and prosecutors to keep 45 their identities secret (“faceless judges”), and prevented the summoning of officers named in the police arrest report to appear as witnesses. These laws placed great weight on statements made by detainees during the pretrial phase and prevented the filing of habeas corpus suits on behalf of those facing charges of terrorism or treason against the fatherland. 79. Regarding the role of the National Police in those investigations, the conditions of incommunicado detention, and the denial of consultations with counsel, Decree Law No. 25475 provided as follows: Article 12. In investigating terrorism crimes, the National Police of Peru shall strictly abide by the applicable legal provisions and, specifically, the following: a. To take charge of investigations of terrorism crimes at the national level, deploying its personnel without any restriction set out in its institutional regulations. […] c. To hold suspects for no more than fifteen calendar days, giving notice in writing thereof to the Public Prosecution Service and to the corresponding criminal judge. 40 Museum of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, Message to the Nation by the President of Peru, H.E. Alberto Fujimori Fujimori, April 5, 1992, available at: www.congreso.gob.pe/museo/mensajes/Mensaje-1992-1.pdf. 41 Museum of the Congress of the Republic of Peru, Message to the Nation by the President of Peru, H.E. Alberto Fujimori Fujimori, April 5, 1992, available at: www.congreso.gob.pe/museo/mensajes/Mensaje-1992-1.pdf. 42 IACHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.83, Doc. 31, March 12, 1993, Section III, The Situation Since April 5, 1992, para. 54, available at: www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Peru93sp/indice.htm. 43 Decree Law No. 25475 of May 5, 1992, available on the web site of the Congress of the Republic of Peru: www.congreso.gob.pe/ntley/Imagenes/Leyes/25475.pdf. 44 Decree Law No. 25659 of August 7, 1992, available on the web site of the Congress of the Republic of Peru: www.congreso.gob.pe/ntley/Imagenes/Leyes/25659.pdf. 45 With the enactment of Law 26671 on October 12, 1996, faceless judges and prosecutors were abolished.