REDRESS Celebrates Decision of Peruvian Court Convicting Perpetrators of Azul Rojas Marín for Torture and Sexual Violence
REDRESS celebrates the judgement issued on 15 December 2025 by the National Court of Justice in Peru (Corte Superior Nacional de Justicia Penal Especializada) finding three police officers responsible for aggravated torture and aggravated sexual rape of Azul Rojas Marín, a transgender Peruvian who, while living as a gay man, was arbitrarily arrested in 2008, then raped with a police baton, beaten and verbally abused due to her sexual orientation
This judgment follows Azul’s historic victory before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the highest tribunal on the matter in the Americas, in March 2020, which declared Peru responsible for the torture and sexual violence committed against Azul by police officers and ordered the State to carry out an effective investigation to identify, prosecute, and punish those responsible. It was the first case in the history of the Inter-American Court to consider torture motivated by discrimination in the Americas. Today, more than five years after the Inter-American Court judgement, justice has finally been done.
Police officers Dino Horacio Ponce Pardo, Luis Miguel Quispe Cáceres, and Juan Isaac León Mostacero, were sentenced to 17 years in prison each by the Nacional Court of Justice in Peru. The Court also ordered their permanent suspension as members of the police in Peru, and to pay civil reparation to Azul, consisting of monetary compensation aimed at addressing material harm as well as harm to Azul’s project of life.
The judgement considers established that Azul “was taken into police custody and then taken to the Casa Grande police station, where she suffered insults and verbal abuse of a discriminatory nature, as well as physical assaults involving blows and the use of force to subdue her, and the use of a police baton to inflict pain, culminating in sexual assaults such as being stripped naked and having the police baton inserted into her on two occasions. She was detained despite her condition resulting from the assaults (intense pain) without receiving any assistance”. The Court concluded that these actions were attributable to the three accused, finding they are responsible as co-perpetrators (coautores) for aggravated torture and rape.
The Court also ordered that Azul has access to psychological care, given the gravity of the crimes. Finally, the Court ordered therapeutic psychological treatment for the accused to address their commission of sexual violence.
This judgement is an important milestone in Azul’s search for justice and reparation for the violations she suffered by the police in Peru back in 2008, which were based on her sexual orientation and gender identity. Even though following her release, and supported by her late mother Juana Rosa Tanta Marín, Azul filed a criminal complaint with the Peruvian authorities for rape, abuse of authority and torture against the officials responsible, she faced discrimination and barriers at every step of the way.
While the prosecutor authorities initially recognised that sufficient evidence existed to open an investigation for rape and abuse of authority, they decided not to open an investigation for torture. The prosecution argued that there was no indication that the officers had raped Azul; they reasoned that – as there was no intention to obtain information or to obtain a confession to a crime, or to punish her for her sexual orientation – the case lacked the necessary elements under Peruvian law for the crime to constitute torture. The prosecution later decided to close the investigation into rape and abuse of authority leading to the tribunal responsible for the case to close it.
In a video testimony presented before the Inter-American Court, Azul stated that a prosecutor initially told her that her case would be dismissed because: “they are not going to pay attention to you for being homosexual; if you were a normal person, they would pay attention to you, but since you have relationships with men, they are not going to pay attention to you.”
Given the lack of justice in Peru, with support from REDRESS, the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos and PROMSEX, Azul took her case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Following the Inter-American Court judgement, the Peruvian State published the judgment and offered a public apology to Azul at a high-level public ceremony held at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2022, which included remarks by the Minister of Justice, as well as senior officials from the Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, other State institutions, and Azul herself. Peru also published the sentence and publicly apologised to Azul in a high-level ceremony. Azul received partial compensation and has been able to get medical and psychological assistance (although with numerous challenges). Other reparation measures ordered by the Inter-American Court are still pending implementation by the Peruvian State, such as the adoption of a protocol for the effective investigation of cases of violence against LGBTIQ+ individuals.
Chris Esdaile, Senior Legal Advisor at REDRESS, said:
“Today’s decision is a very important step for Azul’s recovery and to realize her right to justice for what happened to her. It is also a positive sign that Peru is making progress on this matter by ensuring that cases like Azul’s do not go unpunished and that torture and other violence against LGBTIQ+ individuals is not tolerated in Peruvian society”.
For more details on the case, read here.
For more information (in English or Spanish), please contact Eva Sanchis, Head of Communications at RDRESS, on [email protected] or +44 (0)7857 110076.
Photo by Promsex: Azul Rojas Marín (left) at the apology ceremony of the Peruvian State, which took place at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in 2022.