Peruvian Scientist Gets Appeal from Supreme Court

The Peruvian Superior Court has approved an appeal from Dr. Ernesto Bustamante, vice president of the Peruvian Association of Biologists, on the penal case for defamation filed against him by another Peruvian scientist Dr. Antonietta Gutierrez.  Bustamante, a biotechnologist in the medical sciences, was found guilty for defamation by a minor court.

Bustamante questioned the quality of the work, its publication in a website of a Malaysian nongovernment organization, and foremost, the conclusions derived from the research, that purportedly showed the existence of up to 33% of illegally planted GM maize in one of the valleys in the Peruvian Coast. An independent analysis of the research work by other Peruvian and international scientists confirmed the position of Dr. Bustamante.

PeruBiotec, the Peruvian Association for the Development of Biotechnology, is calling on scientists to join an electronic signature campaign in support of Dr. Bustamante and to free discussion in the realm of science. The petition says that it calls "upon Peru to restore the ability of scientists to exercise their discipline and pursue truth in accordance with the values of the free world, and call upon the Peruvian authorities to reverse the ill-considered and unfounded verdict."

Interested individuals may go to https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHJ3T2stY3VKZk5YUVhZNFd3UWdfc1E6MA&ifq.