ID :
54603
Thu, 04/09/2009 - 15:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/54603
The shortlink copeid
Peru's top court sentences Fujimori to 25 years for rights crimes+
LIMA, April 7 Kyodo - Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights crimes related to two massacres that occurred during his rule in the early 1990s.
After a 15-month trial, a special criminal court of the Peruvian Supreme Court
found Fujimori guilty of murder and all other charges in the massacre of 25
civilians. The sentence is five years fewer than the maximum 30 years, which
prosecutors had demanded.
This is the first time a former Peruvian president has been found guilty of
human rights violations committed while in office. The crimes in question are
seen as symbolizing human rights violations during Fujimori's 10-year regime.
Presiding Judge Cesar San Martin said Fujimori, 70, committed crimes against
human rights.
Fujimori's defense, arguing the charges amounted to political persecution,
immediately filed an appeal under the two-tier appellate system.
According to prosecutors, an appeal trial will be concluded within about four
months as it involves only an examination of documents, making it likely a
final ruling can be expected by the end of this year.
Outside court, Fujimori's supporters marched in the street, facing off with
anti-Fujimori activists. Riot police separated them before the commotion could
escalate.
One focus of the trial was whether Fujimori could be held responsible for the
two massacres carried out by a special military unit named the Colina Group in
1991 and 1992.
In November 1991, the unit shot and killed 15 people, including an 8-year-old
boy, at a barbecue in Lima's Barrios Altos district. In July 1992, it abducted
nine students and a professor from a university on the outskirts of Lima and
murdered them.
The presiding judge ruled that Fujimori, who was the commander-in-chief of the
Peruvian armed forces at the time, had the authority to order military
operations.
Fujimori ordered the special unit to act on plans crafted by his aide Vladimiro
Montesinos, who headed Peru's intelligence services at the time, the judge
said.
Born in Peru to Japanese immigrants, Fujimori won the 1990 presidential
election. His heyday came when he tamed economic confusion and defeated the
Shinning Path guerrillas.
He was also lauded for his strong leadership in freeing dozens of hostages from
the Tupac Amaru insurgency during a siege of the Japanese ambassador's official
residence in Lima in 1996-1997.
Fujimori fled to Japan in 2000 amid a corruption scandal that toppled his
1990-2000 regime. In November 2005, he traveled to Chile in the hope of making
a comeback in Peruvian politics but was arrested.
He was handed over to Peru in 2007.
==Kyodo
2009-04-08 23:03:11
After a 15-month trial, a special criminal court of the Peruvian Supreme Court
found Fujimori guilty of murder and all other charges in the massacre of 25
civilians. The sentence is five years fewer than the maximum 30 years, which
prosecutors had demanded.
This is the first time a former Peruvian president has been found guilty of
human rights violations committed while in office. The crimes in question are
seen as symbolizing human rights violations during Fujimori's 10-year regime.
Presiding Judge Cesar San Martin said Fujimori, 70, committed crimes against
human rights.
Fujimori's defense, arguing the charges amounted to political persecution,
immediately filed an appeal under the two-tier appellate system.
According to prosecutors, an appeal trial will be concluded within about four
months as it involves only an examination of documents, making it likely a
final ruling can be expected by the end of this year.
Outside court, Fujimori's supporters marched in the street, facing off with
anti-Fujimori activists. Riot police separated them before the commotion could
escalate.
One focus of the trial was whether Fujimori could be held responsible for the
two massacres carried out by a special military unit named the Colina Group in
1991 and 1992.
In November 1991, the unit shot and killed 15 people, including an 8-year-old
boy, at a barbecue in Lima's Barrios Altos district. In July 1992, it abducted
nine students and a professor from a university on the outskirts of Lima and
murdered them.
The presiding judge ruled that Fujimori, who was the commander-in-chief of the
Peruvian armed forces at the time, had the authority to order military
operations.
Fujimori ordered the special unit to act on plans crafted by his aide Vladimiro
Montesinos, who headed Peru's intelligence services at the time, the judge
said.
Born in Peru to Japanese immigrants, Fujimori won the 1990 presidential
election. His heyday came when he tamed economic confusion and defeated the
Shinning Path guerrillas.
He was also lauded for his strong leadership in freeing dozens of hostages from
the Tupac Amaru insurgency during a siege of the Japanese ambassador's official
residence in Lima in 1996-1997.
Fujimori fled to Japan in 2000 amid a corruption scandal that toppled his
1990-2000 regime. In November 2005, he traveled to Chile in the hope of making
a comeback in Peruvian politics but was arrested.
He was handed over to Peru in 2007.
==Kyodo
2009-04-08 23:03:11
