PERUVIAN MILITARY COURT SPARES HUGO BLANCO'S LIFE
According to an Agence France- Presse dispatch from Lima, October 12, the Supreme Military Court handed down a decision "confirming the 25-year sentence" imposed on Hugo Blanco, the wellknown peasant leader.
The prosecution had countered Hugo Blanco's appeal of the savage sentence by demanding the death penalty.
Had the court conceded to this demand, Hugo Blanco could have been executed within twenty-four hours after the verdict.
An international campaign was mounted to save Hugo Blanco. Peruvian consulates and embassies were picketed in cities around the world. Hundreds of messages and appeals were made to President Belatinde to spare Hugo Blanco's life and commute the sentence.
The appeals came from a wide range of sources, including prominent intellec-— tuals in many countries and such worldfamous figures as Jean-Paul Sartre and Bertrand Russell.
Organizations representing thousands of members added their weight to the international protest.
Actions in behalf of Hugo Blanco continued right up to the very eve of the court hearing. On October 10, for instance, some 500 people were reported by Le Monde to have assembled before the Peruvian embassy in Paris to demonstrate their solidarity with Hugo Blanco.
The decision of the court, reject-— ing the demand of the prosecution to kill Hugo Blanco, represents a victory for the international campaign waged in his behalf. However, it is only a partial victory. Hugo Blanco still faces a quarter of a century in prison because of his revolutionary-socialist views.
The campaign to win his freedom will certainly be continued. The partial victory gained should serve to intensify the demands to President Belatinde to grant amnesty to Hugo Blanco and his comrades who are in prison with hin.