Press Release Nº 116

PROCESS OF ANALYSIS OF THE REMAINS FROM
THE GRAVES OF TOTOS TO CONTINUE

In a mobile morgue specially implemented for the occasion at the premises of the Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Huamanga, the analysis of the remains located at the clandestine graves of Sancaypata and Ccarpacassa, in the locality of Totos, province of Cangallo, department of Ayacucho is being carried out. Thirteen forensic experts from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are working on the procedure.
The process is long and detailed, and requires maximum dedication from the forensic experts. It starts with the cleaning of the recovered remains, both bones and clothing. Immediately afterwards, the remains are subjected to X-Rays, and then there is an inventory and an individualization of each of them. Once this stage has concluded, the injuries are described and the cause of death is determined, and dental X-rays and an inventory of the clothing are taken, with the valuable physical recognition of same …
As remembered, the exhumation and identification of the bodies have been supported by the Joint Work Platform for the Investigation of Mass Graves, that includes the Prosecutor’s Office, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Human Rights National Coordinator.
For the Prosecutor’s Office, the Special Prosecutor for Forced Disappearances, Extra-judicial Executions and Exhumations of Clandestine Graves, Felipe Villavicencio, the Special Prosecutor for Forced Disappearances of Ayacucho, Dr. Ana Isabel Barreda, two forensic physicians, two anthropologists, a technician in necropsies and a dentist are participating in the procedure. For the Division of Criminal Investigations of the National Police, four experts, specialists in handling evidences and photography are participating. For the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, five forensic experts and three international experts are taking part: Mercedes Salado (of Spanish nationality, residing in Guatemala), María Isabel Reveco (from Chile) and Luis Fonderbride (from Argentina) who monitored the work of these teams in order to ensure that the international standards are complied with.
The work is accompanied by representatives of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Ombudsman’s Office and the Human Rights National Coordinator. This Thursday and Friday, the relatives of the victims will start the process of identification of the remains. Today the team of forensic experts continues with the analysis of the remains found at the graves of Ccarpacassa.

Lima, September 3rd, 2002

Office of Communications and Public Impact