Peru court rules that Fujimori be tried for 1992 massacre
A court in Peru has ruled that former authoritarian president Alberto Fujimori, who was recently pardoned and freed from jail, should be tried for the 1992 killing of six farmers by paramilitary forces.
Incumbent President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski pardoned the 79-year-old Fujimori, who had served almost half of a 25-year prison sentence for graft and human rights abuses, on December 24 last year, citing humanitarian reasons related to ailing Fujimori’s health.
The controversial pardon, which came a few days after Fujimori’s loyalists in Congress unexpectedly saved Kuczynski from impeachment over alleged corruption, triggered speculation among his critics that it had been part of a negotiated political deal, sparking street protests across Peru and drawing condemnation from human rights groups.
On Monday, the National Criminal Court said that the pardon granted to Fujimori did not apply to the murder of six people by a paramilitary group in the town of Pativilca in 1992 during his rule.
Prosecutors asked that Fujimori and 23 others be tried for the killings.
A spokeswoman for the government’s judicial authority said Fujimori could appeal the court’s decision. The lawyer of the ex-leader told media an appeal to the Supreme Court was being considered.
Prosecutors are seeking a 25-year jail term for the ex-leader.
Fujimori, who ruled over Peru as a US-backed president from 1990 to 2000, is remembered for stabilizing the economy but is also blamed for massive human rights abuses. He had been hospitalized for heart arrhythmia before being discharged a free man in early January.
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