Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Reports: Lori Berenson is pregnant

She is a U.S. citizen who was convicted in 1995 accused aiding Peru’s Tupac Amaru guerillas. To some she was a gringa interloper who knowingly helped one of Peru’s most ruthless terrorist organizations. To others she is innocent and was unfairly jailed by a Fujimori-era kangaroo court. She is Lori Berenson and she currently sits in a Peruvian prison serving a 20-yeaR sentence. (Originally it was life in jail).

According to press reports out of the Andean nation, prison doctors found that Berenson is approximately four weeks pregnant. “It's a euphoric feeling for us,” said the father of the 37-year-old who has been wed since 2003 to a former guerilla she met in prison.

Berenson’s sentence finishes in 2011 (assuming no other charges are filed against her). According to Peruvian law, women whom give birth in jail can keep the child for the first few years.

Peru’s RPP Noticias claims that Berenson is not in good health despite her pregnancy:

A su embarazo se suman problemas de salud en la columna y el oído debido a lo cual se estarían realizando gestiones a través de la embajada de los Estados Unidos para que esta sea trasladada a otro penal con la finalidad de recibir mejor atención en un hospital.

[Trnsaltion – Along with her pregnancy she has had health problems relating to her spinal column and ear. This is why gestures are being made to the U.S. Embassy so she can be transferred to another facility and then recive better attention at a hospital.]

Image- CNN

Sources (English)- ABC News, Reuters, Free Lori Berenson, Opinionjournal.com

Sources (Spanish)- RPP Noticias, La Republica

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