Mark and Rhoda Berenson spoke at a news conference in New York after Peruvian officials announced Monday that Lori Berenson's 1996 treason conviction in a military court was overturned and that her case would be heard in a new, civilian trial. Her father, however, remained indignant that his daughter would have to be tried again.
Peruvian authorities say they foiled the alleged plan.
But her parents said Monday that their daughter's actions have been those of an activist, not a terrorist. The two said a passion for helping others has remained a constant throughout Berenson's life. She volunteered at soup kitchens while growing up and as a teenager persuaded her family to adopt a foster child in Guatemala. Berenson studied music and anthropology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for more than a year before she dropped out and took a job with a Salvadoran human rights group in New York. In 1990, she traveled to El Salvador and Nicaragua to pursue social causes.