MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fujimori's release from jail imminent

Fujimori, 85, would benefit from a humanitarian pardon

Peru's Constitutional Court (TC) Tuesday issued a warrant for the release from prison of former President Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity, it was reported in Lima.

”This Constitutional Court orders that the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) and the director of the Barbadillo prison, on the day, arrange for the immediate release of the favored person, Alberto Fujimori, under responsibility,” the court ruled.

Fujimori, 85, has been serving a 25-year prison sentence since 2007 for crimes against humanity, which was briefly interrupted between 2017 and 2018 when then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski granted him a pardon which was later revoked by the Supreme Court.

The former head of state was convicted of aggravated homicide and serious injuries for the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres and is currently housed at the Barbadillo jail in Lima, together with former Presidents Pedro Castillo and Alejandro Toledo.

In March 2022, the Constitutional Court ordered the pardon reinstated but the measure was halted following appeals by the victims and injunctions granted this year by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR).

The latest ruling recognizes the seriousness of Fujimori's crimes but acknowledged the humanitarian basis for the 2017 pardon. The Court also said the case had become res judicata and underlined that Fujimori has been denied his release for over six years, which constitutes a violation of a fundamental right after serving nearly two-thirds of his sentence. The Court also said the IACHR does not have jurisdiction to order the non-execution of a sentence.

Last week, Ica Court Judge Fernando Vicente Fernandez Tapia ordered Fujimori to remain in prison but sent the case back to the TC for a final decision.

Fujimori's daughter Keiko said she was confident that the bureaucratic entanglements keeping her father in jail on Tuesday would be overcome by early Wednesday because his release was inevitable.