Peru’s President Dina Boluarte has signed a contentious law granting amnesty to soldiers, police, and militias accused or convicted of atrocities during the 1980–2000 conflict with Maoist rebels, defying an order from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to halt it.

The measure could free those over 70 and affect over 600 trials and 156 convictions for crimes including massacres, torture, and sexual violence.

Human rights groups and UN experts condemned the move as undermining justice for an estimated 70,000 killed and 20,000 disappeared, with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission attributing many abuses to state forces, the BBC has reported.