Conviction of Peru’s former President Fujimori is part of growing international justice movement Commentary
Conviction of Peru’s former President Fujimori is part of growing international justice movement
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Andrew Hudson [Senior Associate, Human Rights First]: "The conviction of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori for serious human rights violations is groundbreaking on a number of levels.

First, not only was a former head of state found guilty of crimes against humanity, but his conviction came at the hands of a court is his own nation. The Peruvian Court displayed remarkable independence, capability and determination in a country where authoritarianism had reigned until quite recently.

Second, Fujimori's conviction has enormous precedential and deterrent value, demonstrating that even heads of state can be convicted for human rights crimes. Hopefully the decision paves the way for prosecutions in other Latin American countries, such as Guatemala, where impunity reigns and prosecutors have failed to investigate high-level figures for culpability in atrocities. The decision must have concerned President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and former President of Chad, Hissen Habre, who is awaiting trial in Senegal.

Third, the conviction arguably only came about because of the inter-American system on human rights, demonstrating its enormous value. In a pioneering decision in 2001, known as the Barrios Altos case, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights struck down the amnesty law that Peru had passed and which had prevented prosecution for the crimes committed by Fujimori. For the first time an international court held that amnesties for serious human rights violations breach international law because "they violate non-derogable rights recognized by international human rights law." It prompted now-extensive legal jurisprudence that amnesties are impermissible for serious human rights violations. It also provided Peruvian prosecutors with an extremely useful judgment to prove Fujimori's culpability. Prosecutors chose the Barrios Altos massacre as one of the emblematic violations upon which to rest their successful prosecution of Fujimori.

Fourth, the case demonstrates the increasing willingness of third-party nations to arrest and extradite former heads of state. In 2005, having fled Peru, Fujimori attempted to return, thinking he could again achieve success in elections. However, he was arrested in Chile en-route to Peru and extradited in 2007. Fujimori's decision to return to Peru was a spectacular political miscalculation. Future heads of state accused of mass atrocity are unlikely to make the same mistake.

Fujimori's landmark conviction is a step forward for international justice and part of a growing international movement to hold former heads of state accountable for serious human rights violations."

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