Former president of Peru jailed for abuse of power

Alberto Fujimori: first conviction in a series of criminal charges that the former president of Peru faces since being extradited from Chile in September.
Photograph: Reuters

Peru: Former president of Peru Alberto Fujimori has been convicted of abuse of power and sentenced to six years in prison after a judge found him responsible for an illegal search at the home of the wife of his one-time intelligence chief.

It was the first conviction in a series of criminal charges that Fujimori faces since being extradited from Chile in September.

Human-rights advocates have welcomed the multiple cases against Fujimori (69) as blows against impunity, but supporters of the former president call him the victim of political persecution.

The abuse of power charge is among the least serious faced by Fujimori, but his conviction on Tuesday, was a setback for him.

His daughter, Keiko Fujimori, a popular congress woman, called the decision "unjust". However, her father had conceded the "irregularity" of the disputed search, which took place in the waning days of his administration.

The former president will file a partial appeal.

The conviction comes a day after Fujimori stunned Peruvians during an emotional outburst in a separate, far more serious case, in which he stands accused of dispatching death squads to murder 25 suspected leftists. He faces a 30-year prison term in that case.

During Monday's court session, Fujimori shouted that he was "totally innocent" of ordering the killings and argued that his tactics had saved Peru from terrorism and economic ruin. He also faces charges of kidnapping, corruption and bribery.

The search at issue took place in November 2000 in the former apartment of the wife of Vladimiro Montesinos, Fujimori's intelligence chief. At the time, Montesinos was a fugitive in a corruption case that ultimately would topple Fujimori's government. Montesinos is now in jail and facing multiple trials.

Prosecutors suspect Fujimori ordered the warrantless search in an 11th-hour effort to collect videos or other evidence that could have implicated his administration in corruption.

He eventually fled Peru and filed his resignation by fax from Japan, his parents' homeland. - (Los Angeles Times-Washington Post service)

© 2007 The Irish Times

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