MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fujimori back in Peru facing up 30 years in prison

Fujimori supporters outside Lima´s airport

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori landed on Peruvian soil for the first time in seven years on Saturday.

Fujimori, who ruled in Peru from 1990 to 2000, was extradited to Peru on Friday after Chile's Supreme Court found sufficient evidence in seven of the 12 cases originally presented against Fujimori to warrant his extradition After arriving at Lima's Las Palmas air force base, Fujimori was flown by helicopter to a police base, where he is to be held until a permanent jail facility is prepared for his detention. The police base is located eight kilometers east of Lima. Fujimori was greeted at the airport by his daughter Keiko Fujimori, the pregnant Peruvian senator who is considered heir of the Fujimori political legacy; David Rodríguez, general director of Peruvian police; and the head of Intepol Peru, among other officials. Fujimori's 15 square meter cell in Peru is a sharp contrast to the mansion he lived in while under house arrest in Santiago. He has no access to TV or internet, and as an inmate he will dine with the staff working at the police base. Before Fujimori left Chile, he condemned the charges as "politically motivated" and insisted his conscience was clear. "This extradition does not mean that I've been tried, much less convicted ... I hope that in Peru there exists sufficient due process to clarify the accusations against me", said Fujimori. Fujimori also suggested that he's eyeing a political comeback, saying "I still have majority support from a very popular political movement. There will be a Fujimori movement for a long time. I guarantee that there will be a Fujimori in the next presidential race." Peru's media reports that Fujimori maintains a small, but substantial following in his country. A recent poll showed that 23 percent of Peruvians want to see him back in politics and some worry his return could provoke turmoil in a country emerging from decades of political and economic chaos. If convicted in Peru, the 69-year-old former head of state risks up to 30 years in prison. According to the extradition treaty between the two countries, Fujimori can only be tried on the charges for which the extradition was approved. Among the seven charges are two emblematic human rights abuse cases – the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres – which took place in 1991 and 1992, respectively. The killings are believed to have been carried out by an infamous, government-backed death squad known as the Colina Group. Prosecutors contend that Fujimori had direct knowledge of and may have even ordered the Group's anti-subversion operations. The Santiago Times