Peru president: Berenson issue closed

LIMA, Peru (AP) - President Alejandro Toledo told President Bush the issue of Lori Berenson, an American jailed here on terrorism charges, is ``totally closed,'' Peru's vice president said Monday. 

Raul Diez Canseco said Bush brought up the New York native's case in closed-door talks with Toledo on Saturday. Berenson, 32, was sentenced in June to 20 years in prison for collaborating with leftist rebels in a thwarted plot to seize Peru's Congress in 1995. 

According to Diez Canseco, Bush was ``respectful'' of the court decision and said the trial was fair. But he also suggested ``something about clemency'' for Berenson, the vice president said. 

Toledo replied that ``for us, that issue is totally closed,'' Diez Canseco told cable news station Channel N. 

Bush visited Lima on Saturday and departed the next day. In a one-on-one meeting, he and Toledo discussed issues from trade to fighting drug trafficking and terrorism. 

Berenson's parents had lobbied for Bush to seek a presidential pardon for their daughter. Berenson says she is innocent and considers herself a political prisoner, convicted for her leftist ideas and not on hard evidence. 

White House spokesman Sean McCormack said Saturday that Bush pushed for fair and humane treatment of Berenson. 

``It is certainly the case that any time U.S. citizens are held overseas and in judicial processes overseas, we always make representations to the host country that we expect our citizens to be treated well and humanely - and that they receive all due process in the context of that country's judicial system,'' McCormack said. 

U.S. Ambassador to Peru John Hamilton said it shouldn't be surprising that Bush brought up Berenson during his visit. ``He is the father of two daughters, and I think he sees the case in its human dimension. That's how he raised it,'' Hamilton told Radioprogramas radio station. 

A secret military court originally sentenced Berenson in 1996 to life in prison for being a leader of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, but that sentence was overturned in 2000. 

In June, a civilian court convicted her of aiding the rebels in the failed bid to take over Congress. Berenson was acquitted of being a member of the guerrilla group. 

The Supreme Court upheld both decisions in February, leaving a presidential pardon or a ruling from the inter-American court system as Berenson's only options for getting released from prison. 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is reviewing a petition by Berenson. It could recommend the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which has the authority to order Peru to overturn her conviction. 

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