I was in prison and you wrote to me

The inspirational story of one man's unjust imprisonment and the faithful prayers that freed him.

Written by Peter Shaw | 03 Feb 2025

Two people sort through letters on a bench between them.

Credit: Joseph Cobb/Tearfund

Trigger warning

This story contains mentions of violence that some readers may find upsetting.

Juan Mallea was a taxi driver in Lima, Peru. On 10 July 1993, he was woken early in the morning when a neighbour asked Juan to drive him to a house in the city. Upon arrival, the anti-terrorist police arrested Juan and his passenger, accusing them of terrorism. He was entirely innocent.

Accused of a massacre

At that time, Peru faced a brutal conflict involving a terrorist group, the Shining Path, and the military. Innocent civilians suffered from disappearances and wrongful imprisonment. A year before Juan's arrest, nine students and a professor ‘disappeared' from Cantuta University in Lima. It was believed they were killed.

A map purportedly showing where the bodies were buried was given to a Peruvian magazine. A copy of the map was planted on Juan, and he was accused of being the author, and implicated in the massacre.

Juan's church alerted the Evangelical Church Council of Peru (CONEP), a Tearfund partner, who asked for help. Tearfund encouraged supporters to write to the Peruvian Embassy in London and to Juan and his wife, Cristina, who were expecting another baby. Hundreds did.

Shortly after being arrested, Juan was paraded on a TV press conference as a terrorist. The President of Peru at the time, Alberto Fujimori, also appeared on TV to support the allegation.

Tortured to plead guilty

‘That is when torture began,’ Juan says. ‘They said: “I'm going to kill your wife, I'm going to kill your parents. We know that you have a child. We're going to kill your child. So it would be better if you signed this document of guilt. That you're part of the Shining Path.”

'My teeth were knocked out. They broke my ribs on one side, then the other side. They threatened that they were going to throw me from a window in the building.’ Despite being tortured, Juan refused to sign a confession.

'I had a nine-month-old baby at the time,’ Cristina says. ‘The police came to my house. I didn't know why. They explained to me, “Your husband is going to be detained. He's involved in terrorism.” I had no idea what was going on.

‘After I was told Juan was going to be in jail, we received a lot of help from our local church. And also from CONEP. I was told about this organisation, Tearfund, that was going to support us as well in different ways, financially and in prayer.’

‘I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Matthew 25:36

A South American man wearing a blue shirt talks to a woman in the backdrop of a garden.

Juan Mallea visiting Tearfund in Teddington. Credit: Joseph Cobb/Tearfund

Letters of solidarity

Cristina deeply valued the letters from Tearfund supporters. 'I began to receive these letters of solidarity,' she says. ‘They would say, “I'm praying for Juan, I'm praying for you, I'm praying for your baby, and I'm also praying for your baby that hasn't been born yet.” I'm so grateful for these letters.

‘The letters were a huge comfort to me until the day when I went to hospital to give birth to my second child. I had the letters in my pocket. I knew that somebody was praying for me.'

Thanks to the letters, the campaign to free him, and handwriting analysis that showed he did not annotate the map, after ten months, Juan was released.

Finally freed

Juan held his five-month-old son, Caleb, for the first time. Throughout his ordeal, his faith kept him going. ‘I have a strong and living God who is always with me,' Juan said while still imprisoned.

Although Juan was also sent many letters, the authorities did not pass them on to him in prison. On the day Juan was released, he was given a bundle of letters of support and prayers.

‘It was only afterwards that I was finally able to learn about this huge campaign that had been happening. I had no idea.'

Saying thank you

Juan sent this message of thanks to Tearfund supporters a year after being released: ‘It is a tremendous privilege, an immense joy that there are no words of gratitude before our God to be able to say to you. May God really bless you.'

Last September, Juan and Cristina visited the UK to personally thank the people who supported them during that terrible ordeal. Speaking at a special event at a Sabbath Day (a day of prayer and worship for Tearfund staff) in Teddington, Cristina was finally able to express their gratitude in person: ‘It's a real pleasure to be here with you at Tearfund 30 years later. To be able to, finally, say thank you.'

‘It's a real pleasure to finally say thank you.’

Cristina Mallea

This is just one example of the many letters Cristina received from Tearfund supporters:

Dear Sister in Christ,

I have heard with great sadness about your situation. I will pray and write letters on your behalf to the authorities.
May God protect and strengthen you.
With much love,

Jillian

Thank you for all your prayers, which are setting lives free across the world!