The decision draws an angry rebuke from President Pedro Castillo, who called on international courts to “defend justice.”
Peru’s highest constitutional court has ruled that former president Alberto Fujimori can be released from prison, where he was sentenced to 2032 for violating human rights.
Fujimori, 83, was previously pardoned on Christmas Eve 2017. But the Constitutional Court overturned the controversial decision on the grounds that it was illegal.
Thursday’s new decision reinstates pardons after appointing judges in recent years who are seen as more sympathetic to the former president.
The ruling, which was released Thursday, showed the judges voted 4-3 in favor of Fujimori’s release. It was unclear when Fujimori would be able to get out of prison and whether new lawsuits could stop the decision.
The decision provoked an angry reaction from President Pedro Castillo, Fujimori’s political legacy rival, who called on international courts to “protect the effective practice of justice.” Peru is a member of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica.
Alberto Fujimori, 83, is battling ill health and was recently hospitalized. [File: Mariana Bazo/Reuters]
Left-wing groups called for protests later on Thursday. The first pardon prompted thousands to take to the streets.
Fujimori, who ruled Peru from 1990 to 2000, is a highly controversial figure.
In his first term, he turned the economy around and ended a period of hyperinflation, but was later convicted of human rights violations related to the crackdown on the brutal Shining Path guerrilla group. He also sent the military to dissolve the Congress and recast the Constitution.
Peruvian Prime Minister Anibal Torres said in response to the ruling that the government must obey him, although he criticized it as a way to “guarantee impunity” for the former president.
“I have already said that this [court] should disappear, this is very negative for the country,” Torres told local media. “This organism is doing a lot of damage to the country, as in this particular case.”
The Constitutional Court of Peru is the country’s highest court and is separate from the executive branch.
Castillo, who came to power in July after defeating Fujimori’s daughter Keiko in a runoff election, said during the campaign that he would like to dissolve the court. However, ever since he became president, he has remained silent on the matter.
The ex-president was serving a 25-year sentence on charges of murder and corruption. [File: Martin Mejia/AP Photo]
Fujimori stepped down as president in 2000 just after the start of his third term. When a series of videos showed his top spy bribing politicians with cash, he flew to Japan and faxed in his resignation. In Japan, he demanded Japanese citizenship and stayed there for several years before flying to Chile in 2005, where he was arrested. He was later extradited to Peru, where he successfully stood trial.
Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 and released in 2017 for several months before being imprisoned again when his pardon was rescinded.
Fujimori’s allies, including his daughter Keiko, who ran for president three times, have long said he is in poor health and deserves a humanitarian pardon. Fujimori was hospitalized last week and released on Monday.