This Thursday, March 17, the Constitutional Court (TC) ruled in favor of declaring well-founded the appeal filed against the sentence that annulled the pardon for the condemned Alberto Fujimori. Said concession was made by the exmandatario Peter Paul Kuczynski in December 2017 in order to avoid being vacated by the Congress at that time.
This event has aroused the indignation of the relatives of the victims of the armed conflict, since the former dictator is serving a 25-year prison sentence for the crimes of La Cantuta and Barrios Altos, and with it, at 83, he would regain his freedom. .
YOU CAN SEE: These are the arguments against the release of Alberto Fujimori
Which magistrates voted in favor of Fujimori’s freedom?
Judge Ernesto Blume was the promoter of scheduling the habeas corpus debate that frees Fujimori. In the morning hours, these votes were already taken into account and finally this afternoon, during the voting time, Blume, Jose Luis Sardon, and Augusto Ferrero. current president of the TC, were those who were in favor of the release.
The other three magistrates, Manuel Miranda, Marianella Ledesma Narváez and Eloy Espinosa-Saldaña voted against, resulting in a 3-3 tie; However the casting vote de Ferrero tipped the balance and allowed the former president to leave.
YOU CAN SEE: Reactions to the ruling of the Constitutional Court that frees Alberto Fujimori
What is the casting vote?
The casting vote is used on occasions where the vote has ended evenly. This vote is usually granted to the president of the body. In case of a tie and in order to end the debate, the president has an additional vote or a higher value vote that breaks the tie and resolves the issue.
Augusto Ferrero met with Keiko before her election at the TC
in 2019 Augustus Ferrero admitted that he had a meeting with Keiko Fujimori and the Fuerza Popular bench in 2017, before his election as a member of this organization.
The current president of the Constitutional Court also voted in favor of the release of Keiko Fujimori. Photo: composition Gerson Cardoso.
In the Sunday Fourth Power, Ferrero indicated that the appointment with the leader of Fuerza Popular took place within the framework of the meetings he held with various congressional benches prior to his appointment. In that stream, he reported that the meeting was coordinated with the former Fujimori legislator, Miguel Torres.
“They sat me down surrounded by all the parliamentarians of Fuerza Popular. Keiko Fujimori said a few words of praise for me and that she agreed with the invitation that had been extended to me (….) She wanted everyone present to listen to me, for me to say a few words, and then ask me all the questions of the participants,” he said.
YOU CAN SEE: Freedom of former dictator Alberto Fujimori remains in the hands of the Inter-American Court
Who is Gregorio Parco, the lawyer who filed the appeal to free Fujimori?
During an interview, Parco said that he visited Alberto Fujimori in 2011 in his cell. According to his version, the legal actions he took were not coordinated with Fujimori’s defense. “(The habeas corpus) has grabbed Congress, Nakazaki, everyone, with their ‘trousers down’,” Ica’s lawyer said with a laugh.
The lawyer appears as a member of Fuerza Popular since 2010 and registers active affiliation. Between 2005 and 2017, he belonged to the ranks of Peru Possible. Parco did not present himself as a representative or member of any committee in any of the parties. Currently, he manifests himself on social networks as a “lawyer who lives in Ica.”
“This lawsuit is from 2020, I had even forgotten about it,” Parco said about his declared habeas corpus founded by the TC. Photo: composition LR/Facebook Gregorio Parco/AFP
Keiko Fujimori on her father’s release: “We have asked him for serenity”
Former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori spoke about the ruling that frees his father Alberto Fujimori and pointed out that the condemned former president has taken the news with “prudence” and his children have asked him for “serenity” for taking care of his health.
Alberto Fujimori: this was the vote of the TC in favor of the pardon of the former president
The constitutional Court reported that the vote of its six members was three against three. Three magistrates in favor of the presentation by Ernesto Blume, promoter of scheduling the debate and admit habeas corpus in order to restore the humanitarian pardon in favor of Fujimoriwhile three others voted against, thus generating a tie.
In that scenario, the Normative Regulation of the Constitutional Court it details in its article 10-A that, in case of a tie in any cause, the sentence is decided with the decisive vote of the president of this institution, that is, of Augusto Ferrero.
in favor of Fujimori
- Judge Blume Fortini (rapporteur) voted to declare the lawsuit founded.
- Judge Sardón de Taboada voted to declare the lawsuit founded.
- Judge Ferrero Costa voted to declare the lawsuit founded.
Against Fujimori
- Judge Espinosa-Saldaña issued a singular vote to declare the lawsuit inadmissible.
- Judge Ledesma Narváez issued a singular vote to declare the lawsuit inadmissible.
- Judge Miranda Canales issued a singular vote to declare the lawsuit inadmissible.
YOU CAN SEE: Inter-American Court gives time to the State to submit observations on ruling in favor of Fujimori
Casting vote of Augusto Ferrero
The magistrate Augustus Ferrerowho acknowledged that he had a meeting with Keiko Fujimori and the Fuerza Popular bench in 2017 —before his election as a member of this organization—, used his casting vote in favor of freeing the former dictator.
What are the crimes for which Alberto Fujimori was convicted?
Alberto Fujimori is recognized as a former dictator after the self-coup of April 5, 1992in which Congress was unconstitutionally closed, he assumed together with his adviser Vladimir Montesinos total control of the National Police of Peru and the Armed Forces. “This court declares that the four charges are proven beyond any reasonable doubt and the sentence is guilty”said the judge Cesar San Martinwho led the process.
- usurpation of functions
- Qualified homicide with treachery and kidnapping
- Massacre of Barrios Altos
- Massacre of La Cantuta
- Embezzlement and ideological falsehood
- Crimes of corruption and espionage
- Chicha Newspapers case.
What did the UN say after the ruling of the TC that frees Alberto Fujimori?
After the Constitutional Court will rule in favor of the appeal that allows the release of former President Alberto Fujimoriwho was sentenced for crimes against humanity, the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations Organization (UN) was pronounced.
“After yesterday’s decision by the Constitutional Court of Peru to restore the pardon to former President Fujimori, we underline that international human rights law restricts amnesties or pardons in cases of serious human rights violations. The rights of victims to justice and the rule of law must be respected,” the institution said through its Twitter account.
