Part of Peruvian political crisis | |
Date | 24 December 2017 |
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Location | Peru |
Type | Pardon |
Convicted | Alberto Fujimori |
Convictions | Human rights abuses, murder and kidnapping |
Sentence | 25 years |
Peruvian political crisis |
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Causes |
Events |
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Elections |
Protests |
Armed violence |
Peruportal |
On 24 December 2017, the President of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, pardoned jailed ex-president Alberto Fujimori. Because the pardon was granted on Christmas Eve, it became known as the "indulto de Navidad" ("Christmas pardon"). [1]
In 2009, Fujimori had been convicted of human rights violations and sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in killings and kidnappings by the Grupo Colina death squad during his government's battle against Shining Path leftist guerrillas in the 1990s. The verdict marked the first time that an elected head of state has been extradited to his home country, tried, and convicted of human rights violations. Fujimori was specifically found guilty of murder, bodily harm, and two cases of kidnapping. [2] [3] [4] [5] The pardon was granted after Fujimori had completed 10 years of imprisonment in Lima. [6]
The pardon sparked massive protests across Peru, [7] even during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations, which are holidays in the country. [8] [9] Protestors accused Kuczynski of corruption, claiming that the pardon was a reward for the support of Fujimori's son, Kenji Fujimori, which had been central to Kuczynski's success in surviving an impeachment vote days earlier. [7] [10]
On 3 October 2018, Fujimori's pardon was reversed by Peru's Supreme Court and he was ordered to return to prison. [11] He was rushed to a hospital and entered prison on 23 January 2019. [12]
The Constitutional Court of Peru, in a 4–3 ruling on 17 March 2022, reinstated the pardon, though it was not clear if or when he may be released. [13] On 8 April 2022, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights overruled the Constitutional Court and ordered Peru not to release Fujimori. [14]
On 5 December 2023, the Constitutional Court of Peru ordered the release of the former president from prison.
According to Peruvian law, the president has the power to grant a humanitarian pardon when the condemned person presents a terminal illness; an advanced, incurable, degenerative illness where prison conditions put the person's life, health, or integrity at risk; or a chronic, degenerative, mental illness where prison conditions put the person's life, health or integrity at risk. [15]
Alberto Fujimori was President of Peru between 1990 and 2000 in the period of the so-called Fujimorato . While still president, Fujimori fled the country and took refuge in Japan when faced with charges of corruption in 2000. On arriving in Japan he attempted to resign his presidency via fax, but his resignation was rejected by the Congress of the Republic, which removed him from office by the process of impeachment. Wanted in Peru on charges of corruption and human rights abuses, Fujimori maintained a self-imposed exile until his arrest while visiting Chile in November 2005. [16] He was extradited to face criminal charges in Peru in September 2007. [17] In 2009, he was sentenced to 25 years for homicide for ordering the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres. [3] He was also sentenced for other crimes such as corruption. [18]
Other accusations against Fujimori include the mass sterilization of 231,774 indigenous people in rural Peru as a result of the National Population Program. [19]
Press reports in late 2012 indicated that Fujimori was suffering from tongue cancer and other medical problems. His family petitioned then-president Ollanta Humala for a pardon. [20] President Humala rejected a pardon in June 2013, saying that Fujimori's condition was not serious enough to warrant it. [21] [22] In July 2016, with three days left in his term, President Humala said that there was insufficient time to evaluate a second request to pardon Fujimori, leaving the decision to his successor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. [23] [24]
In December 2017, Kuczynski faced impeachment proceedings for his connection to the international corruption scandal surrounding the Brazilian firm Odebrecht. The impeachment request was presented by left-wing party Broad Front (headed by a former priest and environmental activist called Marco Arana). [25] Fujimori's daughter Keiko was the most outspoken supporter of the impeachment proceedings against Kuczynski, who had defeated her the year before in a tightly contested presidential election. [26] Kuczynski survived the impeachment vote on 21 December, largely due to the support of Fujimori's son Kenji. [26]
On 11 December 2017 Fujimori requested a pardon for humanitarian reasons. A medical board composed of Juan Postigo, Víctor Sánchez and Guido Hernández recommended pardoning the former President due to a "progressive, degenerative and incurable disease". [27] [28] On 23 December, Fujimori was transferred from the Diroes prison to a clinic. [29] On 24 December, the Press Office of the Presidential Office announced the pardon of Alberto Fujimori through a press release. [30]
An official medical board has evaluated the inmate and has determined that Mr. Fujimori suffers from a progressive, degenerative and incurable disease and that prison conditions pose a serious risk to his life, health and integrity. ... The President of the Republic, in using the powers conferred by the political Constitution of Peru for such purposes, has decided to grant a humanitarian pardon to Mr. Alberto Fujimori and seven others who are in similar condition at 18:00 hours on 24 December 2017.
— Press Office of the Presidential Office [31]
The same day, Kuczynski signed R.S. No. 281-2017-JUS., granting Fujimori "pardon and right of grace for humanitarian reasons within the Barbadillo Penitentiary Establishment". [32]
On 25 December, in the face of protests against the pardon, Kuczysnki released a message to the nation, asking people to not "get carried away by hate" nor to allow the former President to "die in prison". [33] In a video broadcast on his social media, Fujimori apologized to those who were "defrauded by [his] government" and thanked Kuczynski. [34]
There was widespread criticism in Peru that the pardon was motivated less by clemency than a desire to reward Fujimori's son Kenji for his role in helping Kuczynski survive the impeachment vote against him the week before the pardon. [10] Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Lima on 26 December. [10] The Peruvian non-profit law office Legal Defense Institute denounced the pardon as political and illegal and vowed to appeal it to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR). [35] The Peruvian human rights organization Association for Human Rights (APRODEH) and the international organization Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) released a statement on 27 December asking the IACHR to intervene. [36]
Amerigo Incalcaterra, the South America representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, categorically rejected the pardon, stating that "Not putting victims at the center of this decision derails the progress the Peruvian state has made on truth, justice, memory and reparations", [10]
Before the pardon was announced, Human Rights Watch had condemned the possibility of a pardon, calling it "a slap in the face to victims of atrocities in Peru and a major setback for the rule of law in the country"; [37] and Amnesty International said that the pardon would violate Peru's obligations under international law and undermine the fight against impunity. [38]
The days following the pardon saw the resignation of various members of Kuczynski's Peruvians for Change party, including the Minister of Culture, [39] three members of Congress, and eight appointed officials. [40] Facing a second impeachment process, Kuczynski himself resigned in March 2018.
Following appeals by victims of Fujimori's decisions, Peru's Supreme Court reversed his pardon on 3 October 2018. Fujimori was ordered back to prison. [11] The court found that the pardon lacked legal foundation, as one of the reasons given for Fujimori's pardon was a terminal illness, but he did not suffer from one. [41] Furthermore, it found that "the pardon was unlawful because Fujimori's crimes are considered crimes against humanity, and therefore can't be pardoned under Peruvian and international law". [42] Fujimori's attorney said he would appeal the decision. [42]
On the day the reversal was announced, Fujimori was transported by ambulance to a private clinic to be treated for a heart condition. He gave an interview there one day later, saying that a return to prison would kill him. [43]
Days later, on 11 October 2018, the Congress of Peru —whose members are mainly Fujimorist —approved a bill allowing older adults to be released from prison and be placed on electronic monitoring, a move that was seen as benefiting Fujimori. [44]
In January 2019, a court-appointed panel found that Fujimori was healthy enough to return to prison, and he was forced back to prison on 23 January 2019. [12] The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Fujimori's lawyers on 13 February 2019, confirming the earlier decision that Fujimori must serve the remaining 13 years of his sentence in prison. [45]
The Constitutional Court of Peru, in a 4-3 ruling on 17 March 2022, reinstated the pardon, though it was not clear if or when he may be released. [13] On 8 April 2022, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights overruled the Constitutional Court and ordered Peru not to release Fujimori. [14]
Fujimori's daughter, Keiko Fujimori, unsuccessfully ran for president in the 2021 Peruvian general election. She had announced in January 2021 that she would pardon her father should she get elected. [46] She ultimately lost the election in the second round to Pedro Castillo, who has vowed to not consider pardoning Fujimori while in office. [47]
On 5 December 2023, the Constitutional Court of Peru ordered the immediate release of Alberto Fujimori.
Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. Of Japanese descent, Fujimori was an agronomist and university rector before entering politics. Generally recognized as a dictator, his government was characterized by its use of propaganda, neoliberal economic reforms, widespread political corruption and human rights violations.
The President of Peru, officially called the Constitutional President of the Republic of Peru, is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the Supreme Head of the Armed Forces and National Police of Peru. The office of president corresponds to the highest magistracy in the country, making the president the highest-ranking public official in Peru.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Godard, also known simply as PPK, is a Peruvian economist, public administrator, and former politician who served as the 59th President of Peru from 2016 to 2018. He served as Prime Minister of Peru and as Minister of Economy and Finance during the presidency of Alejandro Toledo. Kuczynski resigned from the presidency on 23 March 2018, following a successful impeachment vote and days before a probable conviction vote. Since 10 April 2019 he has been in pretrial detention, due to an ongoing investigation on corruption, money laundering, and connections to Odebrecht, a public works company accused of paying bribes.
The Broad Front for Justice, Life and Liberty, or simply Broad Front, is a major political coalition of parties, political organizations, social movements and activist citizens of Peru whose main objective is to consolidate the different leftist, progressive, socialist and communist sectors.
Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi is a Peruvian politician. Fujimori is the eldest daughter of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori and Susana Higuchi. From August 1994 to November 2000, she held the role of First Lady of Peru, during her father's administrations. She has served as the leader of the Fujimorist political party Popular Force since 2010, and was a congresswoman representing the Lima Metropolitan Area, from 2006 to 2011. Fujimori ran for president in the 2011, 2016, and 2021 elections, but was defeated each time in the second round of voting.
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was arrested, tried, and convicted for a number of crimes related to corruption and human rights abuses that occurred during his government. Fujimori was president from 1990 to 2000. His presidency ended when he fled the country in the midst of a scandal involving corruption and human rights violations.
Popular Force, known as Force 2011 until 2012, is a right-wing populist and Fujimorist political party in Peru. The party is led by Keiko Fujimori, former congresswoman and daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori. She ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in the 2011, 2016 and 2021 presidential elections, all losing by a narrow margin.
General elections were held in Peru on 10 April 2011 to elect the President, the Vice Presidents, 130 members of Congress and five members of the Andean Parliament. As no presidential candidate received a majority in the first round, a second round was held on 5 June to determine the successor of outgoing president Alan García. Former army officer Ollanta Humala narrowly defeated Keiko Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori. Humala was sworn in as the 94th President of Peru on 28 July.
The Alliance for the Great Change—PPK was an electoral alliance in Peru formed for the 2011 general election to promote the presidential candidacy of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski ("PPK").
Fujimorism is the policies and the political ideology of former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori as well as the personality cult built around him, his policies and his family, especially Keiko Fujimori. The ideology is defined by authoritarianism, its support for neoliberal economics, opposition to communism, and socially and culturally conservative stances such as opposition to LGBT rights and school curriculums including gender equality or sex education. Opponents of Fujimorism are known as anti-Fujimorists.
Omar Karim Chehade Moya is a Peruvian lawyer and politician. He worked as consultant lawyer in the Ad Hoc Anti-corruption Prosecution in judicial cases against former president Alberto Fujimori and his intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos. He was the Second Vice President of Peru in Ollanta Humala's presidency from 2011 until his resignation in 2012.
Kenji Gerardo Fujimori Higuchi is a Peruvian businessman, politician and a former congressman representing Lima from 2011 until he was suspended from congressional duty in June 2018, in aftermath of the Mamanivideos scandal. He is the son of former President Alberto Fujimori and former First Lady and congresswoman Susana Higuchi. He has three siblings: Hiro Alberto, Sachi Marcela and Keiko Fujimori. In the 2011 elections, he ran for Congress in the constituency of Lima, under the Force 2011, a Fujimorist political party led by his sister Keiko, being the most voted congressman in 2011. In the 2016 elections, he was re-elected for a second term to Congress, once again representing the same constituency, under the Popular Force, as he received a high number of votes and being the most voted congressman in 2016. In June 2018, following the "Mamanivideos" scandal, Congress suspended Kenji and two other congressmen of his party for allegations of crimes of influence peddling and bribery.
General elections were held in Peru on 10 April 2016 to determine the president, vice-presidents, composition of the Congress of the Republic of Peru and the Peruvian representatives of the Andean Parliament.
Peruvians for Change was a centre-right party in Peru.
The first impeachment process against Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, then the incumbent President of Peru since 2016, was initiated by the Congress of Peru on 15 December 2017. According to Luis Galarreta, the President of the Congress, the whole process of impeachment could have taken as little as a week to complete. This event was part of the second stage of the political crisis generated by the confrontation between the Government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and the Congress, in which the opposition Popular Force had an absolute majority.
The presidency of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Peru began with his inauguration on Peru independence day and ended with the president's resignation following a corruption scandal on March 23, 2018.
Since 2016, Peru has been plagued with political instability and a growing crisis, initially between the President, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Congress, led de facto by Keiko Fujimori. The crisis emerged in late 2016 and early 2017 as the polarization of Peruvian politics increased, as well as a growing schism between the executive and legislative branches of government. Fujimori and her Fujimorist supporters would use their control of Congress to obstruct the executive branch of successive governments, resulting with a period of political instability in Peru.
Alberto de Belaúnde de Cárdenas is a Peruvian lawyer, LGBT activist, and politician. An independent progressive caucusing with the Purple Party, he currently serves in the Peruvian Congress' complementary term 2020–2021. He previously served in the 2016–2019 term, elected under Peruvians for Change, and subsequently joining the progressive Liberal Bench.
"El ritmo del Chino", sometimes called "El baile del Chino" is a technocumbia song created for the political campaign of the 2000 elections of the Peruvian president and candidate for re-election Alberto Fujimori, who is affectionately nicknamed El Chino as he is of Asian (Japanese) descent.
Barbadillo Prison is a prison facility located in Lima, Peru administered by the National Penitentiary Institute. Known as the "presidential prison" for being the place of detention of the former presidents, it has hosted former presidents Alberto Fujimori and Ollanta Humala. Currently imprisoned at the facility are former presidents Alejandro Toledo and Pedro Castillo.
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