Peru's Fujimori Goes Back to Trial for Death Squad Killings

Corruption is Everywhere - Certainly in Peru

By Sommer Brokaw  

Riot police officers blocked the passage of protesters during a demonstration against the pardon to ex-president

Alberto Fujimori, in Lima, Peru in December. File Photo by Eduardo Cavero/EPA-EFE

UPI -- Former Peru President Alberto Fujimori, age 79, will go back to trial on charges related to death squad killings in 1992.

A court ruled Monday that Fujimori could be tried despite a medical pardon months ago.

At issue is the death squad killings of six farmers in Pativilca, a central town in Peru, in January of 1992. Fujimori is now charged with authorizing the kidnapping, torture and killings of the six farmers.

Fujimori had been serving a 25-year prison sentence since 2014 for human rights abuses before a medical pardon was granted in December. These abuses involved authorizing the six farmers' killings as part of a larger conflict with left-wing rebels. Nearly 70,000 people died in the conflict.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski granted the pardon in December, sparking two nights of protests in Lima. Kuczynski cited "low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat" in his decision.

Seriously, I've had that all my life! Kuczynski, himself, has been accused of corruption being named in Brazil's Odebrecht scandal. He has refused to step down.

Another Peruvian ex-president Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) has also been implicated in corruption. It's almost like a requirement for the job!

Amnesty International praised the court's latest ruling.

"The decision not to apply the grace granted by President Kuczynski to Alberto Fujimori constitutes an important advance in the fight against impunity for the crimes that occurred in Pativilca, and reinforces the obligation of the Peruvian state to guarantee the right of victims to truth, justice and reparation," the statement from Amnesty International reads.

Pativilca, Peru