Former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori was released from prison Wednesday, due to the Peru Constitutional Court order despite the concerns of the IACHR.
The Inter-American Court required Peru to refrain from executing the order to release the former president. However, just a day later, on December 6, the Constitutional Court issued a judicial resolution ordering the immediate release of Alberto Fujimori. This decision caused a series of pronouncements since only four of six judges issued the resolution. Manuel Monteagudo, one of the non-signatory judges, pointed out that he and Judge Ochoa were unaware of the Constitutional Court’s order. Likewise, he indicated that “he believed that a decision that ignores resolutions of the Inter-American Court had to be a matter for the plenary session of the Constitutional Court.” Given these statements, the president of the constitutional court, Francisco Morales Saravia, stated that “there is no irregularity”. He emphasized that Judges Monteagudo and Ochoa did not have to be called because this was decided by four judges.
Around 5 PM Wednesday, the National Penitentiary Institute of Peru indicated that, in compliance with the mandate of the Constitutional Court, it began the process of releasing Fujimori. The official release was not until 6 PM due to the formalities of the process. A few hours later, the Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs held a press conference to stating that “compliance with the ruling of the constitutional court in no way ignores the obligations derived from international treaties and the IACHR.”
Fujimori has been investigated for several alleged crimes, including murders and forced sterilizations. As a result of the release of the former president, the Second National Superior Criminal Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Human Rights and Interculturality changed the restricted appearance for 18 months of house arrest against Fujimori. The Supreme Court announced Thursday the annulment of the judicial process in the forced sterilization case, ordering that the criminal judge in charge of the case issue a new ruling.
