Court revokes parole for US rebel activist

An American activist convicted of aiding leftist rebels has turned herself in to police after a court ordered her arrest and revoked a decision granting her parole.

Deputy Justice Minister Luis Marill said the court had overturned a ruling in May, which was widely unpopular in Peru, granting Ms Berenson parole.

The ruling by the three-judge panel may not be appealed against under Peruvian law.

Ms Berenson will now be sent back to prison to finish the last five years of her 20-year sentence for aiding the rebels.

Ms Berenson has acknowledged collaborating with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, but said she had never been a member of the group nor had she taken part in violent acts.

She had initially been accused of being a leader of the movement, which bombed banks and kidnapped and killed civilians in the 1980s and 1990s. She was also said to have been involved in a plot to overthrow Peru's Congress.

In 1996, she was convicted of treason and sentenced to life. But after an intense campaign by her parents and pressure from the US government, she was retried and convicted of the lesser crime of terrorist collaboration.

She told the court that she regretted her actions and hoped to focus on raising her 15-month-old son, Salvador.