Legal Journals

Peru?s Fujimori Claims Innocence

By tlee

On Wednesday, former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori defended his innocence with regards to human rights abuse claims in a Rio De Janeiro court.  Taking the stand in his own defense, Fujimori vehemently denied responsibility for the murders of 25 people and the kidnappings of 2 others.  

These charges stem from alleged actions taken by the Peruvian government under Fujimori in response to a series of bloody guerrilla attacks in Peru in the early 1990s. Defending his policies and actions, Fujimori declared, “I did nothing wrong . . . The Peru that I inherited was a disaster. It was a Peru that had to be rescued.?

Concerns over Fujimori’s health have lengthened the trial, now in its fifteenth month.  Fujimori is believed to be the world?s first democratically elected former president to be tried for human rights violations in his own country.

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Full post as published by Harvard International Law Journal Digest on April 05, 2009 (boomark / email).