Peru constitutional court affirms ex-president pardon despite international court ruling News
Esteban Valle Riestra - Youtube, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Peru constitutional court affirms ex-president pardon despite international court ruling

The Peru constitutional court moved Wednesday to affirm a 2017 pardon granting the release of ex-President Alberto Fujimori despite an Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruling that required the release be blocked.

Fujimori was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to the maximum term of 25 years for various war crimes and corruption during his rule as president in Peru from 1990-2000. In a statement the president of the judicial body, Francisco Morales Saravia, commented that “the rulings of the Constitutional Court must be followed and complied with, just like resolutions of the Supreme Court” referring to earlier actions by the Peruvian Supreme Court in the case.

The Constitutional Court ruling is the latest in a lengthy series of legal exchanges regarding the controversial pardoning of Fujimori by ex-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2017. Kuczynski pardoned Fujimori on humanitarian grounds while seeking support from the Popular Force Party led Fujimori’s daughter, Keiko Fujimori. At the time Kuczynski was embroiled in an impeachment and corruption scandal for which he later resigned.

In response to the circumstances surrounding the pardon including public uproar and outcry from the IACHR, of which Peru is a member, the Peruvian Supreme Court annulled the pardon in 2018 and Fujimori was returned to jail shortly thereafter. After an appeal the annulment was overturned by the Constitutional Court. Despite this, Fujimori has continued to be held in custody in deference to the IACHR ruling.

Fujimori was convicted for his role in multiple early 1990s massacres as well as for embezzlement of public funds. Fujimori also has a pending case against him for mass sterilizations of indigenous women during his time in power. Despite the widespread condemnation from international human rights groups Fujimori maintains a strong base of support in Peru where supporters have lauded him for his economic policies and successful war against the guerilla group Shining Path. Carlos Rivera, a lawyer who has represented relatives of the victims killed in the massacres ordered by Fujimori, has stated that if the disgraced ex-president is released then the IACHR would be petitioned for a “new process of compliance monitoring.”

THIS DAY @ LAW

President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus

On April 27, 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland and parts of several midwestern states during the American Civil War. Lincoln took this action to address draft riots and the threat of secession by Union states bordering the Confederacy. The President maintained his suspension even after it was overturned by the federal judiciary in Ex parte Merryman 17 F.Cas. 144 (1861). Learn more about Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus.

War crimes trials of WWII Japanese leaders began

On April 27, 1946, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East began its trials in Tokyo, Japan, ruling on the indictments of former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and 27 associates.

Learn more about the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.