Exclusive: groups call for US inquiry into police killing of ‘Cop City’ protester

Petition to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed on behalf of Manuel Paez Terán, aka ‘Tortuguita’, and their mother

Human rights groups have filed a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights calling for a US Department of Justice investigation into the police killing of “Cop City” protester Manuel Paez Terán, as well as the release of all related evidence, and apologies to the family from the US government.

Two organizations – Robert F Kennedy Human Rights and the Southern Center for Human Rights – together with the University of Dayton Human Rights Center filed the 37-page petition to the Washington DC-based commission, on behalf of Paez Terán, also known as “Tortuguita”, and their mother, Belkis Terán. The Guardian obtained an exclusive view of the document.