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Peru’s Fujimori asks for forgiveness

Tuesday, 26 December 2017 3:09 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 26 December 2017 3:09 PM ]

This file picture taken on January 8, 2015 shows Peru's former President (1990-2000) Alberto Fujimori gesturing just before the reading of the verdict on charges of embezzling state funds and using them to manipulate the media, at a police base in Lima. (Photo by AFP)

Peru's ailing ex-president Alberto Fujimori on Tuesday asked the public for forgiveness, two days after receiving a controversial pardon from the country's current leader.

"I am aware that the results of my government were well received on one side, but I admit that I have let down other compatriots, and I ask them to forgive me with all my heart," Fujimori said in a Facebook video filmed from his hospital bed.

The 79-year-old had been serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and human rights abuses committed during his time in office from 1990 to 2000.

He was transferred from his prison cell to a hospital on Saturday after suffering from low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat, the latest in a string of hospitalizations for the ex-leader.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski ordered the pardon of Fujimori and seven other prisoners on Sunday on humanitarian grounds, placing himself in the middle of a political crisis just days after he avoided impeachment.

Fujimori's son Kenji had drained votes away from a parliamentary bid last week to impeach Kuczynski on suspicion of corruption, sparking speculation the pardon was political.

People hold a protest against Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's humanitarian pardon to Peru's jailed ex-president Alberto Fujimori, in Lima on December 25, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Alberto Fujimori has spent more than a decade imprisoned for ruthlessly cracking down on political rivals and for ordering dozens of murders and overseeing other brutal tactics.

Despite his conviction for human rights abuses, however, Fujimori retains a level of popularity in Peru for having defeated left-wing guerrillas and for stabilizing the economy after a period of crisis.

(Source: AFP)

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