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Peru court orders Fujimori tried for 1992 mass killing: official
LIMA, Feb 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A Peruvian court ordered former president
Alberto Fujimori on Monday to stand trial for the 1992 killings of six
farmers, arguing that he lacks immunity despite a recent pardon for a
different crime.
The National Criminal Court said the pardon granted to Fujimori in a human
rights case for which he was serving a 25-year sentence did not apply to the
murders of the group.
Prosecutors asked to try the ex-president and 23 others for the death squad
killings.
Fujimori, 79, was pardoned by the current Peruvian president, Pedro Pablo
Kuczynski, on December 24 on humanitarian grounds because of ill health.
The former leader had been serving a sentence for crimes that included
commanding death squads that killed suspected civilian sympathizers of
leftwing guerrillas that his regime was fighting.
The pardon triggered street protests in Peru and was slammed by
international rights groups as a blow in the struggle against impunity.
Kuczynski’s pardon was seen by many as quid pro quo for help from
Fujimori’s lawmaker son Kenji days earlier in beating an impeachment vote in
Congress over alleged corruption.
Miguel Perez, Fujimori’s attorney, said it was not yet clear if the issue
of immunity could be addressed again.
Perez told local media that he tried to have the ex-president serve as a
witness in the new case, but failed. “So in this trial, he simply will be
listed as one of the accused,” Perez said.
Prosecutors are seeking 25 years in prison for the ex-leader.
– Pardon many won’t forgive –
“Mr Fujimori now has resumed his status as a defendant, and in the case of
the pardon, there was no sensible justification,” human rights lawyer Carlos
Rivera said.
Kuczynski had pledged not to pardon Alberto Fujimori. But he did so just
days after Kenji Fujimori’s vote in his favor, sparking speculation the
pardon was a political quid pro quo.
Rights groups and relatives of victims asked the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights earlier this month to rule against a pardon for Fujimori.
Kuczynski — who defeated Keiko Fujimori for the presidency in 2016 — said
he had pardoned the ex-president for humanitarian reasons.
The pardon has drawn heavy criticism from victims of Fujimori’s 1990-2000
rule, as well as their relatives and human rights advocates.
Two United Nations human rights experts also said the pardon was a “slap in
the face” to victims of his brutal rule.
“The presidential pardon granted to Alberto Fujimori on politically
motivated grounds undermines the work of the Peruvian judiciary and the
international community to achieve justice,” UN special rapporteurs Agnes
Callamard and Pablo de Greiff said in a statement in December.
“We are appalled by this decision. It is a slap in the face for the victims
and witnesses whose tireless commitment brought him to justice.”
Still, Fujimori earned respect from many Peruvians for his ruthless and
unflinching campaign to defeat leftist guerrillas during his presidency.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0854 hrs