(JTA) — Lori Berenson, whose imprisonment in Peru became a cause celebre, was released on parole from a Peruvian prison for a second time.
Berenson, 40, a Jewish New Yorker, left the prison in Lima on Monday after a court granted her parole. She had served 15 years of a 20-year sentence for aiding leftist rebels in a plot to overthrow Peru’s Congress.
Berenson had been released on parole in May, but was ordered to return to prison in August because police failed to confirm the address in Lima where she would serve out the remainder of her sentence.
She must remain in Peru for the rest of her sentence, unless President Alan Garcia decides to commute it. Peru’s state prosecutor again has appealed her parole.
Berenson has denied belonging to the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement or engaging in violent acts, but in May she apologized to Peruvians in a letter for any hurt she may have caused.
While in prison, Berenson married her Peruvian lawyer and gave birth to a son, who is now 15 months old.
Thousands of human rights activists campaigned for years for Berenson’s release. Her parents, Mark and Rhoda, left their jobs as university professors to advocate on their daughter’s behalf.
