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| Peru’s Fujimori Is Released From Hospital, After Outcry Over Pardon | Peru’s Fujimori Is Released From Hospital, After Outcry Over Pardon |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| LIMA, Peru — Alberto K. Fujimori, the former president of Peru who had been serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations, spent Friday — his first day of freedom after being granted a medical pardon — inside a house in a quiet suburb of Lima as he recovered from illnesses that had sent him to a hospital bed for almost two weeks. | |
| Mr. Fujimori, 79, left a Lima hospital in a wheelchair on Thursday night, waving to journalists waiting outside as he stepped into a black S.U.V. that took him to a large house in the quiet, upscale neighborhood of La Molina. He was accompanied by his son, Congressman Kenji Fujimori, who posted on Twitter a picture and a video with his father as they made their way through the capital. Once at the house, Mr. Fujimori was reunited with his four children. | Mr. Fujimori, 79, left a Lima hospital in a wheelchair on Thursday night, waving to journalists waiting outside as he stepped into a black S.U.V. that took him to a large house in the quiet, upscale neighborhood of La Molina. He was accompanied by his son, Congressman Kenji Fujimori, who posted on Twitter a picture and a video with his father as they made their way through the capital. Once at the house, Mr. Fujimori was reunited with his four children. |
| The release came 12 days after Peru’s president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, pardoned him on Christmas Eve. The decision was portrayed as an act of clemency, but it set off angry protests throughout Peru. | The release came 12 days after Peru’s president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, pardoned him on Christmas Eve. The decision was portrayed as an act of clemency, but it set off angry protests throughout Peru. |
| It also revealed the deep divisions within Popular Force, a party led by Mr. Fujimori’s elder daughter, and reopened some of the scars from the complex legacy of Mr. Fujimori. In office from 1990 to 2000, he remains a deeply divisive figure here, respected in some quarters for his economic overhauls and his crackdown on two violent insurgencies, but reviled by others for his strongman tactics and for military-backed atrocities during his tenure. | It also revealed the deep divisions within Popular Force, a party led by Mr. Fujimori’s elder daughter, and reopened some of the scars from the complex legacy of Mr. Fujimori. In office from 1990 to 2000, he remains a deeply divisive figure here, respected in some quarters for his economic overhauls and his crackdown on two violent insurgencies, but reviled by others for his strongman tactics and for military-backed atrocities during his tenure. |
| It is unclear what role, if any, Mr. Fujimori might play in Peruvian politics. Samuel Abad, a constitutional lawyer, said Mr. Fujimori could seek office, or return to Japan — where he lived for five years in exile after his presidency, and where he is a citizen, through his parents, who emigrated from Japan to Peru. | It is unclear what role, if any, Mr. Fujimori might play in Peruvian politics. Samuel Abad, a constitutional lawyer, said Mr. Fujimori could seek office, or return to Japan — where he lived for five years in exile after his presidency, and where he is a citizen, through his parents, who emigrated from Japan to Peru. |
| “He faces no limitations, he has regained all of his rights,” Mr. Abad said. | “He faces no limitations, he has regained all of his rights,” Mr. Abad said. |
| But Víctor García Toma, a former justice minister and a former president of Peru’s constitutional court, said there could be limitations to Mr. Fujimori’s political activities. | But Víctor García Toma, a former justice minister and a former president of Peru’s constitutional court, said there could be limitations to Mr. Fujimori’s political activities. |
| “He hasn’t been given a pardon to regain his political career, but to preserve his health in a dignified way,” Mr. García Toma said. | “He hasn’t been given a pardon to regain his political career, but to preserve his health in a dignified way,” Mr. García Toma said. |
| Mr. Fujimori’s doctor, Alejandro Aguinaga, said the former president had a “serious heart condition” and would be following a strict health regimen. | Mr. Fujimori’s doctor, Alejandro Aguinaga, said the former president had a “serious heart condition” and would be following a strict health regimen. |
| The pardon was issued three days after Kenji Fujimori led a crucial bloc in Congress that saved Mr. Kuczynski from impeachment. The pardon has been widely seen as a quid pro quo between the two politicians, and it ignited large protests in Lima. | The pardon was issued three days after Kenji Fujimori led a crucial bloc in Congress that saved Mr. Kuczynski from impeachment. The pardon has been widely seen as a quid pro quo between the two politicians, and it ignited large protests in Lima. |
| In supporting Mr. Kuczynski, Kenji Fujimori was openly challenging his sister Keiko, who leads the Popular Force party and who supported impeachment. At the last minute, Kenji Fujimori and nine other lawmakers from the party acted to save Mr. Kuczynski’s presidency, depriving the president’s opponents of the supermajority they needed to remove him from office. | In supporting Mr. Kuczynski, Kenji Fujimori was openly challenging his sister Keiko, who leads the Popular Force party and who supported impeachment. At the last minute, Kenji Fujimori and nine other lawmakers from the party acted to save Mr. Kuczynski’s presidency, depriving the president’s opponents of the supermajority they needed to remove him from office. |
| Some of the lawmakers have said that Alberto Fujimori — who at that point was still imprisoned — asked them to disobey Keiko Fujimori’s instructions. | Some of the lawmakers have said that Alberto Fujimori — who at that point was still imprisoned — asked them to disobey Keiko Fujimori’s instructions. |
| As a result, Kenji Fujimori has emerged as a political leader in his own right, splitting the Popular Force, which had until now had been tightly controlled by his sister alone. The split has also altered the power balance in Congress, where Ms. Fujimori can no longer count on a congressional majority. | As a result, Kenji Fujimori has emerged as a political leader in his own right, splitting the Popular Force, which had until now had been tightly controlled by his sister alone. The split has also altered the power balance in Congress, where Ms. Fujimori can no longer count on a congressional majority. |
| Kenji Fujimori, who is 37 and a graduate of Kansas State University, is the youngest of Alberto Fujimori’s children and received more votes than any other Congressional candidate in the 2011 and 2016 elections. | Kenji Fujimori, who is 37 and a graduate of Kansas State University, is the youngest of Alberto Fujimori’s children and received more votes than any other Congressional candidate in the 2011 and 2016 elections. |
| The public brawl between brother and sister has shown the changing face of Fujimorismo — the political philosophy of Popular Force. | |
| On Thursday afternoon, Popular Force issued a statement saying that it saluted Mr. Fujimori’s pardoning but that it “disagreed with the way” the pardon was carried out. | On Thursday afternoon, Popular Force issued a statement saying that it saluted Mr. Fujimori’s pardoning but that it “disagreed with the way” the pardon was carried out. |
| For his part, Kenji Fujimori has publicly said that his sister and her closest advisers tried to keep his father imprisoned. Of the advisers, Pier Figari and Ana Herz, he said they had “systematically conspired for years” against freeing his father. Popular Force issued a statement reiterating its “trust” in the two advisers. | |
| Carlos Meléndez, a political scientist who has studied Fujimorismo, said the dispute pointed to the maturation of the party. | Carlos Meléndez, a political scientist who has studied Fujimorismo, said the dispute pointed to the maturation of the party. |
| “Fujimorismo started out as the political project of one man, but has devolved into a family project,” Mr. Meléndez said. | “Fujimorismo started out as the political project of one man, but has devolved into a family project,” Mr. Meléndez said. |
| “Alberto Fujimori has elevated political pragmatism to a point where he doesn’t care about democratic values,” Mr. Meléndez said. “Keiko Fujimori is also a pragmatist, but we don’t know if to the same extent.” | “Alberto Fujimori has elevated political pragmatism to a point where he doesn’t care about democratic values,” Mr. Meléndez said. “Keiko Fujimori is also a pragmatist, but we don’t know if to the same extent.” |
| Human rights lawyers have challenged Mr. Kuczynski’s pardoning of Mr. Fujimori, hoping that either a local judge or a judge with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will send him back to prison. That court has set a hearing for Feb. 2. | Human rights lawyers have challenged Mr. Kuczynski’s pardoning of Mr. Fujimori, hoping that either a local judge or a judge with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will send him back to prison. That court has set a hearing for Feb. 2. |
| Mr. Fujimori’s still owes some $8 million in civil penalties that were imposed as part of his sentencing, and the debt has raised questions about his living situation. He is currently staying at a house that, an online listing shows, costs $5,000 a month. The house has a large, terraced garden in the back. While imprisoned, Mr. Fujimori had taken to gardening. | |
| Mr. Fujimori hasn’t paid any of the money he owes, said Julio Arbizu, a former top government lawyer on anti-corruption matters who said he had devoted significant government resources to track down Mr. Fujimori’s assets. | Mr. Fujimori hasn’t paid any of the money he owes, said Julio Arbizu, a former top government lawyer on anti-corruption matters who said he had devoted significant government resources to track down Mr. Fujimori’s assets. |
| “The problem was we didn’t find any,” Mr. Arbizu said, who tried to find the assets between 2011 and 2014. “We didn’t find any trail of money saved in local or foreign banks, or assets or properties.” | “The problem was we didn’t find any,” Mr. Arbizu said, who tried to find the assets between 2011 and 2014. “We didn’t find any trail of money saved in local or foreign banks, or assets or properties.” |
| When the government requested information about whether Mr. Fujimori had any source of income, Mr. Arbizu said it was told he had none. Even his legal address belonged to a friend, and Mr. Fujimori had never lived there. So his office couldn’t seize the property. | When the government requested information about whether Mr. Fujimori had any source of income, Mr. Arbizu said it was told he had none. Even his legal address belonged to a friend, and Mr. Fujimori had never lived there. So his office couldn’t seize the property. |
| But his release could lead to a newfound effort to recover that money. | But his release could lead to a newfound effort to recover that money. |
| “Now we know he has good money to pay for the house where he’s staying,” Mr. Arbizu said. | “Now we know he has good money to pay for the house where he’s staying,” Mr. Arbizu said. |