Peru: Former President Alberto Fujimori is freed from prison

Peru's former president, Alberto Fujimori, has already been released from prison despite not having served his full sentence. Local media reported that Fujimori left Barbadillo prison Wednesday afternoon after the Constitutional Court ordered his release.

Peru's Constitutional Court (TC) issued a resolution last Tuesday ordering the "immediate" release of former president Alberto Fujimori, who had been serving a 25-year sentence for crimes against humanity since 2007.

"This Constitutional Court orders the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) and the Director of the Barbadillo Prison to order the immediate release of Alberto Fujimori, under responsibility," reads the document shared by the Constitutional Court.

The same court had already issued an order in March 2022 for the release of the 85-year-old former president. However, a subsequent ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) established that a pardon was not viable and that Fujimori should not be released.

For some time, the Peruvian state complied with the order. However, Fujimori filed a writ of habeas corpus a few weeks ago, leading to the most recent TC decision.

The contradiction between the Constitutional Court and the IAHRCourt

The TC's resolution continues to contradict that of the Inter-American Court. However, now the Constitutional Court denies that the Inter-American Court has the authority to decide whether or not the former president should be released.

"It is beyond its jurisdiction to order a State (...) not to execute an order of a national court. In any case, the court is authorized to record in a resolution that it remains open to the supervision procedure or, if it were the case, to inform the Organization of American States (OAS)," reads the TC resolution.

Fujimori's lawyer says when he will be released from prison

Elio Riera, the former president's legal defender, informed that Fujimori could leave Barbadillo prison on Wednesday, Dec. 6, if all administrative procedures are fulfilled.

Why is Fujimori in prison?

Alberto Fujimori, who was president of Peru from 1990 to 2000, was sentenced to prison in his country for ordering the massacres of La Cantuta and Barrios Altos, events in which more than two dozen people lost their lives.

The former president was also convicted for the kidnappings of businessman Samuel Dyer and journalist Gustavo Gorriti.