He spent a good 16 years behind bars for human rights violations by death squads. Two months ago it was said that he wanted to become president again.
Lima – Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has died at the age of 86. “After a long battle with cancer, our father, Alberto Fujimori, has just passed away to meet the Lord,” said a message on behalf of his four children on the account of his daughter Keiko Fujimori on the X platform.
Fujimori was imprisoned for a good 16 years during his time in office (1990 to 2000) for serious human rights violations by death squads. He has been free since December. As head of state, the son of Japanese immigrants had the security forces take rigorous action against left-wing and allegedly subversive forces, and parliament was disempowered. At the time, the state saw itself threatened by the Maoist terrorist organization Shining Path. In addition, tens of thousands of indigenous women were forcibly sterilized in order to reduce the number of children they had. They were seen as an obstacle to development.
Sentenced to 25 years in prison
Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2009. In 2017, he was pardoned and released from prison by then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. However, the Supreme Court later overturned the decision and Fujimori was imprisoned again. In December, the Constitutional Court finally confirmed the 2017 pardon on humanitarian grounds. Human rights organizations criticized this.
Although the constitution only allowed two terms in office, Fujimori ran for a third term in 2000. He won the election, but was soon stumped by the Montesinos scandal. His intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, was filmed giving a bribe to an opposition MP to persuade him to join Fujimori’s party.
Fujimori initially fled to Japan, but was arrested on a trip to Chile and subsequently extradited to Peru. It was only in July that Keiko Fujimori, the leader of the right-wing Fuerza Popular party, announced that her father would run for president again. dpa
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