Peruvians protest against possible pardon of Fujimori

Peruvians marched through the streets on Friday to urge President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski not to pardon the country’s former leader Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations.

Kuczynski’s promise not to pardon Fujimori during last year’s presidential election helped him scrape together a narrow victory against Fujimori’s daughter, Keiko Fujimori.

But last month Kuczynski proposed a potential pardon for Fujimori, 78, for health reasons as his finance minister was ousted by Congress, which is dominated by Fujimori’s supporters.

“It would be a betrayal. A betrayal of his word and his promise to the families of the victims of the dictatorship,” said protest organizer Jorge Rodriguez.

At least 2,000 protesters participated in the march through the streets of Lima, witnesses said.

Fujimori has been convicted of leading groups that massacred civilians and kidnapped journalists during his years in office from 1990-2000. Despite his autocratic style, Fujimori still has a solid following among Peruvians who credit him with fixing an economy in crisis and quashing a bloody leftist insurgency.

A May Ipsos poll found that 59 percent of Peruvians back a humanitarian pardon for Fujimori.

In an interview with local broadcaster RPP on Friday, Kuczynski said his decision would be based strictly on a medical review that should be completed by the end of year.

“I’ll follow the medical recommendation,” Kuczynski said.

While pardoning Fujimori might help Kuczynski ease tensions with Congress, it would anger the leftist groups that helped elect him.

Fujimori’s doctor, Alejandro Aguinaga, said Friday that Kuczynski’s committee for presidential pardons has not received any new information about Fujimori's health.

But Aguinaga said Fujimori suffers from various ailments that merit a pardon, including a recurrent growth on his tongue, a hernia in his back and a recent episode of an abnormally fast heartbeat.

Fujimori hospitalized

Fujimori was taken to a hospital Friday after showing signs of hypertension and irregular heartbeat, his doctor said.

“We have brought him to the clinic tonight,” Fujimori’s physician Alejandro Aguinaga told AFP, saying the ex-leader showed signs of “a hypertensive crisis with arrhythmi” and would be evaluated.

He was undergoing tests after which doctors would determine whether he should remain hospitalized or be transferred back to the police headquarters in a Lima suburb where he was being held.

Fujimori has suffered a series of health setbacks, and had a week-long hospital stint last May for a heart condition.

He has also been in and out of hospital with back and stomach trouble and growths on his tongue, which has been operated on several times for cancer.

Peruvian law allows the president to offer pardons for Independence Day -- celebrated on July 28 -- and for Christmas.

(Source: Agencies)

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