I. Summary

Alberto Fujimori arrived in Chile on November 6, 2005, nearly five years after he resigned from the Peruvian presidency. Wanted in Peru on criminal charges ranging from homicide to embezzlement, Fujimori had managed to avoid being brought to trial in Peru by staying in Japan, where he claimed Japanese citizenship. His surprise appearance in Chile, a country that has a long-standing extradition treaty with Peru, sparked new hope that he would finally be extradited to Peru to face trial.

The Peruvian authorities are expected to present formal requests for Fujimori’s extradition within the next few days. Under Chilean law, however, the extradition process is far from a mere formality. The extradition treaty includes standard technical requirements, such as that the crimes with which Fujimori is charged must also be crimes under Chilean law, with potential sentences of over one year. Also, Chilean courts have in the past gone beyond the terms of extradition treaties to review the evidence supporting the charges that form the basis of the extradition request. Generally, courts have required that the evidence be sufficient to establish probable cause to bring charges, but they do not require sufficient evidence to convict.

Fujimori has repeatedly claimed that there is no evidence against him and that he is the victim of political persecution. He suggests that most of the charges against him are either fabricated or involve crimes that were committed solely by his close personal advisor, Vladimiro Montesinos.

In the Chilean extradition proceedings, Fujimori will likely challenge the evidentiary basis of the charges against him in the hope that the Chilean courts will deny some or all of the extradition requests. If extradited, Fujimori could be tried in Peru only for crimes for which Chilean courts grant an extradition request, not for crimes for which extradition is denied. Thus, whether or not Fujimori will eventually face trial for crimes involving grave violations of human rights and corruption will depend to a large degree on the evidence assembled now by Peruvian authorities.

As this report documents, there is more than sufficient evidence in several serious criminal cases currently pending against Fujimori in Peru to justify his extradition. Fujimori’s continued claims that there is no information linking him to the charges against him are baseless and disingenuous.

In past Human Rights Watch reports, we have written about the massive and systematic violations of human rights that occurred during the Fujimori regime. The extent of these violations has also been recently documented in detail by Peru’s Truth Commission. Much has also been written about the Fujimori government’s record of having achieved a near-total concentration of power through corruption and other criminal means, while maintaining a façade of democracy.

Indeed, corruption and human rights violations frequently go hand in hand. In Fujimori’s Peru, large-scale corruption not only deprived Peruvians of public resources that could have been used to alleviate economic need, but also seriously eroded the rule of law, which is essential to the protection of human rights. Moreover, through corruption the government was able to fully subvert the democratic process, eliminating normal checks by the judiciary, legislature, and the media on government abuses.

This report is not, however, a general overview of the history of human rights violations and corruption during the Fujimori government. Rather, this report is focused on the specific charges and evidence that justify Fujimori’s extradition to face prosecution and trial in Peru.

In particular, this report examines five of the most serious criminal cases currently pending against Fujimori, explaining briefly the underlying facts and describing some of the evidence. Our analysis of these cases shows that, contrary to Fujimori’s claims, in each case there is evidence against him sufficient to justify his extradition from Chile to face trial in Peru:

La Cantuta/Barrios Altos Killings: Fujimori, along with fifty-seven other individuals, including numerous former military officers and his advisor Montesinos, is charged with responsibility for the killings of twenty-five people in two separate events. The killings were allegedly carried out by the Colina Group, a specialized squad of military and intelligence officers, intentionally set up to “eliminate” suspected terrorists. There is evidence, including statements by Colina Group members, that Fujimori knew of the existence and operations of the Colina Group beforehand but did nothing to stop them, rendering himself potentially criminally liable. Nor did he take steps to punish the crimes after they occurred.

Phone Tapping of Civil Society, Journalists, and Politicians: There is extensive testimony, from multiple sources, that throughout his government Fujimori ordered that the private calls of numerous individuals be intercepted illegally, and authorized the use of state funds to purchase phone tapping equipment and pay the personnel who intercepted the calls. There is even evidence that phone tapping equipment was installed, at his request, in the president’s official residence at the Palace of Government.

Diverted State Funds: There is extensive documentary and testimonial evidence that Fujimori established a complex system to divert millions of dollars in public funds from their official purposes to special accounts in the National Intelligence Service (“Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional” or “SIN”). He and Montesinos allegedly then used the diverted funds for a variety of illegal purposes, including bribes, funding Fujimori’s presidential campaigns, and personal payments to Fujimori and his family. Former government ministers, as well as Fujimori’s close adviser Vladimiro Montesinos, have testified that Fujimori ordered substantial monthly transfers of funds from the budgets of each branch of the armed forces to the SIN, which Montesinos controlled. Montesinos and others have also testified that every month, Fujimori asked that several hundred thousand dollars of the SIN funds be delivered to him or his family. Similarly, there is evidence that Fujimori diverted donations that Japanese persons and entities made to Peru through NGOs that were managed by Fujimori and his family.

Bribing Congress: It is well documented that numerous members of Congress received bribes to switch their party affiliation and join Fujimori’s party after the 2000 elections. Fujimori’s advisor Montesinos has testified that he made the payments, which Fujimori ordered.

Transfer of U.S.$15 Million in Public Funds to Montesinos: Shortly before the collapse of his government, Fujimori allegedly arranged to have U.S.$15 million in state funds given to Montesinos. Former ministers who participated in the transfer, as well as Montesinos, have testified as to Fujimori’s involvement and subsequent efforts to cover up the transfer.

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December 2005