Protests in Peru against ex-governor Fujimori’s release order

The demonstrators strongly condemned the sudden decision taken by the Transitional Council, chanting slogans such as “Fujimori will never be repeated”, “Never forget, no tolerance” and “Down with amnesty” amid apparent discontent. The RPP radio network reported similar protests in different cities of the country

Gisela Ortiz, the sister of one of the nine students and a teacher in the so-called La Cantota massacre in July 1992, one of the crimes for which Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison as a direct perpetrator, participated in the protest. .

Ortiz, a humanitarian and Minister of Culture in Pedro Castillo’s government until recently, declared that the president, who had criticized the ruling and called for justice, should take action against the TC’s decision.

The former Minister of Health also participated in the current government, Hernando Cevallos, who warned of the possibility of reaching a political agreement under which the government would refrain from acting against the decision of the Transitional Council, which he said betrays the collective memory. .

The TC overturned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the pardon issued in December 2017 by then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, due to a political agreement with the Fujimori faction, although he was eventually forced to resign.

The ruling divided the transitional council, with three votes in favor and three against, and the court’s conservative chief justice, Augusto Ferrero, ruled in favor of the former president, in a rushed procedure and without sufficient debate, according to Judge Eloy Espinosa. who voted against it. Meanwhile, the prisoner’s daughter, Keiko Fujimori, said briefly that she had received the sentence with surprise and gratitude and that the family would prioritize health care for her 83-year-old father.

The Secretary-General of the ruling party Peru Liber, Vladimir Ceron, stated that Fujimori committed crimes against humanity, not only against the nation, and the final decision will be made by an international court.

And former progressive presidential candidate Veronica Mendoza, in turn, said that the transitional council “intends to release a thief and a murderer who did not apologize or pay compensation to him” to the families of his victims.

“The government cannot be an accomplice in this disgrace and betrayal, in addition to all the proposals for change, the struggle of the victims of the dictatorship,” he said.

He also said that “the country’s laws, memory and dignity cannot be touched in this way. Fujimori’s pardon was illegal and immoral in 2017 and now people in the streets will explain it.”

Jha / Mrs