Human rights court orders Peru to pay compensation for a 1997 forced sterilization death

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LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a judgment and ordered Peru to pay reparations for the death of a mother of three who died in 1997 as part of a forced sterilization program under the administration of the late Alberto Fujimori.

The landmark ruling on Thursday is the first by Latin America's highest tribunal regarding forced sterilizations in Peru, a policy that systematically targeted impoverished and Indigenous women.

The court revealed that Celia Ramos was only 34 when she died, leaving behind three daughters in her Andean village. Her death in 1997 followed a harrowing experience at a state health center where, rather than receiving the care she sought, she was coerced into a tubal ligation. The procedure was performed under negligent conditions, lacking both the proper equipment and the medication required to manage complications.

Ramos experienced a severe allergic reaction during the surgery but was not moved to intensive care for another half-hour. She died 19 days later, on July 22, 1997. The state then bypassed a formal autopsy and left her family in the dark, providing no clear explanation for her sudden decline, the court said.

As part of the ruling, the court has ordered Peru to pay approximately $340,000 to the Ramos family. This includes reimbursement for the medical expenses incurred during the 1997 attempt to save her life, as well as compensation for the loss of income she would have earned throughout her productive years.

Peru’s ministry of justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday from The Associated Press.

In August 2024, the Peruvian justice system overturned a criminal indictment against Fujimori in the forced sterilization case, rejecting a prosecution appeal. Following Fujimori’s death in 2024 the proceedings reverted to the formal complaint stage. Now the focus has shifted to determining the criminal responsibility of other high-ranking former officials, including several former health ministers.

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