Peru's Fujimori 'to release memoirs via social media'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24170299

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The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, has said he will publish excerpts from his memoirs on the social media websites Twitter and Facebook.

Fujimori said in a letter he intended to share thoughts and memories, happy and sad, while serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations.

The social media accounts would be managed by a group of supporters.

The 75-year-old governed Peru for a decade before being impeached and fleeing the country in 2000.

Peru's Justice minister, Daniel Figallo, reacted angrily to Fujimori's announcement.

'Prison, not hotels'

"People who commit violations and have their liberty taken from them have their rights limited. Otherwise, we turn prisons into hotels," he told reporters.

Mr Figallo reportedly asked the prison director to limit Fujimori's access to social media.

The former leader still has supporters in Peru and vowed to reveal his thoughts online.

"In this way, I'll be able to share my thoughts, memories and illusions, sorrows and joys," his letter read.

Peru's President Ollanta Humala recently rejected Fujimori's request for a pardon on humanitarian grounds.

Earlier this week, the authorities rejected a bid by Fujimori's lawyer to have him transferred to house arrest.

After being stripped of his powers by the country's Congress in 2000, the leader sought exile in Japan.

He eventually returned to Chile, where he was arrested in 2005.

After losing a lengthy legal battle, he was extradited to Peru in 2007 and convicted of human rights violations after a 15-month trial.

He was accused of authorising death-squad killings in two incidents known as La Cantuta and Barrios Altos, and the kidnapping of a journalist and a businessman.

Mr Fujimori repeatedly denied the charges, saying they were politically motivated.