[ad_1]
Copyright of the image
Reuters
Alberto Fujimori (photo of March 2018) was pardoned less than a year ago
A court in Peru has annulled a pardon granted to former president of the country, Alberto Fujimori.
Fujimori was pardoned in December for health reasons, nine years after being convicted of having ties to a death squad and two massacres.
But a court sentenced him to return to jail after a group of victims were successful in appealing the ruling made by the then president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
Fujimori, who headed Peru in the 1990s, will fight the decision, his lawyer said.
His daughter Keiko, who heads the main opposition party, the Popular Force, told reporters that the decision was "inhuman" and "unfair".
- Alberto Fujimori: The deeply divided Peruvian leader
- A family drama in Peru threatens the success of South America
Most Peruvians had presumed that Fujimori, now 80, would be in prison until the end of his life, after being sentenced to 25 years in 2009, after being convicted of 39, ordered the killing of 25 people by a government-backed death squadron during the internal conflict in Peru.
But in December 2017, he was taken from prison to a hospital in the capital, Lima, because of health problems. he was suffering from low blood pressure and an abnormal heart rhythm.
Mr Kuczynski, who resigned in March following a vote-buying scandal, granted him a pardon the same month, causing protests in Lima – even as Fujimori supporters were being celebrated in front of the city hospital where he was being treated.
Copyright of the image
Reuters
The fans gathered in front of his home after the judge made his decision
Forgiveness has been widely regarded as part of a political agreement. Mr. Kuczynski had narrowly avoided the dismissal, with the support of Fujimori supporters, three days earlier.
Carlos Rivera, who represents the family members of the victims, said the decision to cancel the pardon "restores the right to justice for the family members of the victims".
Fujimori is admired by many in Peru for mercilessly crushing Maoist rebels in the 1990s, ending a conflict that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
But his critics say that he is a corrupt dictator who has been legitimately imprisoned for ordering the killing of innocent peasants.
