MONTREAL — Canada's Border Services Agency on Sunday announced they have deported a Peruvian suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity after he was taken into custody this past week.
Manuel de la Torre Herrera, 57, was questioned in Toronto on July 25, four days after the government published a list of 30 wanted war criminals in Canada and encouraged citizens to help identify the suspects.
Government authorities said de la Torre would be sent back to Peru.
The government did not explain the crimes allegedly committed by the Peruvian national, but the National Post reported that he was a 14-year veteran of Peru's security forces has been hiding in Canada after his asylum request was denied in 2004.
Four other suspects have been arrested in the same operation, a second Peruvian, Henry Pantoja Carbonel; Honduran Cristobal Gonzalez-Ramirez; Pakistani Arshad Muhammad; and a national from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Abraham Bahaty Bayavuge.
Sunday, the Canadian government said that another suspect on the list, Illandaridevage Kulatunga from Sri Lanka, was no longer in Canada.
Five of the individuals listed have since been taken into CBSA custody.
The government has previously said none of the 30 people on its list is facing criminal charges abroad. But they have been deemed inadmissible by the Immigration and Refugee Board based on having "reasonable grounds" to believe they were involved in war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Human rights lawyers in Canada have criticized the CBSA's list, calling it a violation of individual rights and international law. Amnesty International also criticized the list and arrests, reminding Canadian authorities that they have a legal responsibility to provide due process for the suspects.
CBC News' practice is not to name suspects who have not been charged with offences, and therefore is not publishing the full list of names and photos at this time.
Numerous Peruvians have faced charges stemming from the time of former president Alberto Fujimori, who governed between 1990 and 2000. His administration is accused of severe human rights abuses, including the use of death squads, torture and forced sterilizations.
Accusations have also arisen from the practices of the Shining Path militant group, which fought a 12-year insurgency through the 1980s and early 1990s in which up to 70,000 people died or disappeared. But Peru has had considerable difficulty in prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity.
When asked by CBC News this week for more information on the allegations against de la Torre Herrera, a CBSA spokeswoman said the agency is "unable to divulge specific details in accordance with privacy laws.
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