Update:Original Post:
Peruvian high court convicted former President Alberto Fujimori for numerous human rights abuses during his decade in power.The “mega-trial” took place over fifteen months and Fujimori became the first democratically elected Latin American leader convicted of human rights violations in his own country. The judges were firm in their verdict against the figure who now faces a thirty-year jail sentence:
"The charges have been proved beyond all reasonable doubt," said Cesar San Martin, the chief judge…The trial was filled with intrigue and controversy including Fujimori being reprimanded for napping during proceedings and facing the testimony of former right-hand man Vladimiro Montesinos.
The verdict related to two massacres, the first committed on November 3, 1991 when a group of armed and masked soldiers burst into a party in the Lima suburb of Barrios Altos, killing 15 people, including an eight-year-old boy.
Several months later, nine university students and their professor were rounded up by the same "La Colina" squad, taken to a deserted area of the city and executed with shots to the back of the head.
Fujimori was also found guilty in relation to the kidnapping of a Peruvian journalist working for a Spanish newspaper and a businessman, both critics of his government.
Ironically, one of the main beneficiaries of today’s guilty verdict could be Fujimori’s daughter, Keiko, who may garner support from her father’s sycophants and possibly launch her presidential bid. Yet the big winners today were the justice that has been served against someone who arrogantly thought he was above the law as well as the victims of the massacres and murders during Peru’s armed conflict.
Image- BBC News
Online Sources- BBC News, Al Jazeera English, The Latin Americanist, Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment