MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peru approves extradition charges against Fujimori

The Peruvian government has formally approved 12 of the 17 charges that it plans to present in the extradition case against former president Alberto Fujimori

Peruvian prosecutor Maldonaldo said that among the approved charges are human rights violations and the payment of 15 million U.S. dollars to former National Intelligence Service chief Vladimiro Montesinos, adding that full charges will be released in the official gazette later.

He also said the cabinet has sent the remaining five charges against Fujimori back to court officials for further review.

The Peruvian government will make a formal extradition request to Chilean judicial authorities by January 6. Details of the charges are expected to be released on Saturday

Fujimori had been in exile in Japan since his government collapsed in 2000 amid corruption scandals. Despite repeated Peruvian requests, Japan refused to extradite Fujimori, citing his Japanese citizenship as a son of Japanese immigrants to Peru.

Fujimori arrived in Chile on November 6 and was arrested later at Peru's request. He said he intended to begin a campaign for the 2006 Peruvian presidential elections, using Santiago as a base.