20 the physicians listed in the report, because the national authorities were taking reprisals against medical acts. The Medical Association of the Peruvian Social Security Institute issued pubic communiqués requesting the release of Mrs. De La Cruz Flores, because she had been detained unfairly for the alleged crime of terrorism, and had proved her innocence in all instances. The case was accepted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In 1997, the Dean of the Physician’s Professional Association of Peru requested the Head of the National Police to allow the witness, who was then President of the Human Rights Commission, to enter the prison to visit the physicians detained there, including the alleged victim. The same year, the Physician’s Professional Association of Peru requested the President of the Supreme Court of Justice to ensure that justice was done in the case of María Teresa de La Cruz Flores. The Medical Association of the Peruvian Social Security Institute requested the authorities of the Supreme Court to free the alleged victim. The witness visited the alleged victim in 1990, when she was detained in the Magdalena del Mar Detention Center and, subsequently, in the Santa Mónica Detention Center, where the alleged victim was losing weight, growing pale and aging, with symptoms of depression, owing to her detention. Mrs. De La Cruz Flores stated that she had not been tortured or mistreated, but that the detention conditions were very difficult. As there were many cases of disappearances, torture and violations at that time, the heads of the physicians’ professional associations acted rapidly to defend their colleagues who were detained. The physicians’ professional associations took measures in favor of those detained, because they knew about their egregious situation, and the infectious and contagious diseases that abounded in prisons. Through the alleged victim’s next of kin, he knew that she had asked the prison authorities to allow her to exercise her profession as a physician for the benefit of the prison population. According to the Constitution, prisoners must be given the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves; in this case, to exercise the medical profession. While the alleged victim was detained, she was not allowed to exercise her profession. At the request of the alleged victim and her next of kin, the professional association sent her scientific journals and books on medicine; and, prior to 2000, it was difficult to ensure they reached her. With the advent of democracy, they could send her journals, and she was very happy to be able to read them and update herself. Physicians in Peru, and throughout Latin America, believe that, when a surgeon does not have contact with technological advances for five years, he can lose up to 50% of his knowledge, and even more if he is unable to practice. The alleged victim and the other physicians should be compensated for their suffering, as well as that of their next of kin, but also for having lost the possibility of exercising and developing their personal, professional and academic skills. All these aspects should be taken into account so that Mrs. De La Cruz Flores can return to her work.