Overview
- Peru’s National Appeals Criminal Chamber rejected Víctor Polay’s appeal and confirmed 18 months of pretrial detention in the ‘Las Gardenias’ probe.
- Judges said evidence links him to MRTA leadership and to orders for a “social cleansing” campaign that targeted people for their sexual orientation in Tarapoto, where eight were killed in 1989.
- The court found a risk of flight and cited his 1990 escape from the Castro Castro prison, so he will stay at the Callao Naval Base during the case.
- Prosecutors have charged aggravated homicide and aggravated terrorism and say they will seek life in prison, which could keep him locked up beyond the 35‑year term that ended in early 2026.
- The case moved forward after Judge Fernando Valdez switched him from court supervision to preventive jail on December 5, 2025, part of a wider effort to revive MRTA‑era crimes.