[JURIST] Peruvian prosecutors have filed informal charges against Ollanta Humala [COHA profile; BBC report], the opposition leader who narrowly lost the recent presidential election [BBC report] to Alan Garcia, for murder, torture and kidnapping stemming from his position as an army captain in Peru's San Martin province during the 1990s. A judge must decide whether to formally indict Humala on the charges, which are based on testimony from two family members of Humala's alleged victims.

Humala, who is popular among poor Peruvians, was dismissed from army service in 2000 after spearheading a nonviolent military uprising against then-President Alberto Fujimori [personal website; JURIST news archive]. BBC News has more.