Former Peruvi an president Alberto Fujimori walked out of Barbadillo prison on the outskirts of Lima nine years early, despite a heavy sentence for serious human rights abuses. The decision came after a Constitutional Court ruling that lacked the backing of two justices and drew sharp reproach from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Ricard o Pérez, the court’s top authority, urged the Peruvian state to refrain from freeing the former leader. That guidance was not followed, and the move underscored a direct challenge to the supranational authority of the IACHR. The international response included a note of concern from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who called the development a worrying setback for accountability and the protection of victims. This moment raised questions about sovereignty, international law, and the balance of power between national courts and regional human rights mechanisms.
At the prison gate, Fujimori was greeted by his children, Keiko and Kenji Fujimori. The reception was echoed by several former allies and right-wing lawmakers from the Fuerza Popular party, influential in Congress. They accompanied him as he was taken to the residence of the former presidential candidate. The issue did not settle quietly. Lima’s media and analysts warned that the interim government could face a split, with sectors likely to adhere to IACHR orders and international agreements while others urged caution. President Dina Boluarte and her ministers weighed possible courses of action while evaluating the legal and political implications.
In a public remark, the President of Turkey, Francisco Morales Saravia, asserted that court rulings must be obeyed and implemented, including Constitutional Court decisions. He emphasized that the most relevant ruling in this case was the Constitutional Court’s decision, a stance he had forecast the week before. One of the judges who supported Fujimori’s release—Francisco Morales Saravia—along with Luz Pacheco Zerga and Gustavo Gutiérrez Ticse, faced internal disagreement. Helder Domínguez Haro criticized the decision as unacceptable, while Manuel Monteagudo appeared unaware of the other judges’ actions. A second order reportedly circulated without full awareness among the remaining judges.
A new, warm December
From the viewpoint of the Republic, Fujimori did not meet the minimum humanitarian criteria for a presidential pardon and still does not meet them today. The notion of freedom exists within a broader corporate and political crisis that could strain public institutions, the national Congress, and the government itself.
December 7 marked a year since Pedro Castillo was impeached by the legislature, and protests against Boluarte intensified. Boluarte’s administration found itself in a fraught clash with Attorney General Patricia Benavides, whose political survival appeared tenuous. The Fujimori case added a fresh layer of discomfort to a year-end cycle already marked by political volatility in Peru.
According to the editorial in a major Lima daily, Fujimori’s departure from the prison unit could trigger a broader political crisis. The publication noted that Fujimori, then 85, should be considered for freedom only when it is objectively determined that he belongs in a facility tailored to his needs and when applicable laws are properly followed. Life, the editorial suggested, should not hinge on ambiguous judgments. The piece also cautioned that release would not amount to amnesty for crimes proven against him and criticized what it described as cynical deception during and after his time in power.
Six years of controversy
The dispute traces back to late 2017. On Christmas Eve that year, Fujimori received a humanitarian pardon from President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who was attempting to win favor with Fuerza Popular, the party once led by Kuczynski and allied with Fujimori. Keiko Fujimori and a Congress majority at the time supported the move. Aid was quickly halted, yet Fujimori pressed on, and in March 2022 the Constitutional Court granted habeas corpus in his favor.
For his role in the Barrios Altos and La Cantuta massacres in 1992, in which 25 people died, Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with the sentence scheduled to end in 2032. Relatives of the victims voiced their pain, anger, and sense of a second-class citizenship as December arrived. They recalled the 2017 amnesty as a negotiated outcome and condemned the decision that allowed him to walk free without accountability.
Advocates for victims, including the feminist group Manuela Ramos, rejected the court’s ruling and stressed that no reparations had been provided. They expressed solidarity with those affected and underscored the ongoing demand for justice for human rights violations.