LIMA, Peru: Peru government has defended its decision before a human rights court to release ex-president Alberto Fujimori from jail after he only served part of a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity.
Fujimori was jailed in 2009 for his role in massacres carried out by an army assassination squad in 1991 and 1992, in which 25 people, including children, were killed in what appeared to be counter-terrorism operations.
In December, the Constitutional Court ordered his release on humanitarian grounds, reinstating a general amnesty that was first granted in 2017 but overturned by the Supreme Court two years later.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights which is based in Costa Rica asked authorities at the time to delay the ex-president’s release while it analyzed the court’s ruling, but he was released nonetheless.
Peru’s Justice Minister Eduardo Arana told reporters on Tuesday that Peru had submitted a report to the court that it claimed had acted “strictly in accordance with the principles of law and justice.”
The court requested a report in December saying Peru could be found guilty of contempt.
The justice minister said: “We are respectful of the inter-American human rights system of which Peru is a part.”
However, he added: “The Peruvian state will not allow its sovereignty to be affected by unjust or incorrect decisions.”
