The trial of former President Alberto Fujimori is not getting the attention it deserves. I'm told that it is unprecedented for Latin America to put a former president on trial for human rights charges.
It is quite a comedown for Fujimori, of course. He ruled Peru with an iron hand from 1990 until 2000, when he resigned by fax and settled in Japan. Corruption was enveloping the country then. His right-hand man, Vladimiro Montesinos, was on the lam.
From afar, it looks to me like the Fujimori trial has been proceeding at an orderly and fair pace. That would be unusual in a country with a suspect judicial system.
I hope to get to Peru sometime soon to report on the trial, which is nearing its close. In the meantime, here is the latest article that I could find on the trial.
Not wholly unprecedented. Bolivia put a former dictator on trial and he is now in jail. I don't remember what the charges were, but I want to say it was either drug related or human rights related, or both. Garcia Mesa was the guys name.
Posted by: GS | August 14, 2008 at 07:58 PM
Unprecedented? Well, the Argentine junta was tried, but of course they were democratically elected in the first place, which Fujimori was...
The best resource I know for the trial is the bilingual (Spanish/English) blog,
http://fujimoriontrial.org/
Posted by: Lillie Langtry | August 16, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Ugh, clearly my comment should read "the Argentine junta WEREN'T democratically elected". Obvious, but a stupid typo.
Posted by: Lillie Langtry | August 18, 2008 at 03:36 AM