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Homicide Charges Sought for Fujimori
Peru's attorney general has asked Congress to pursue homicide charges against former President Alberto Fujimori in a state-sponsored massacre in 1991, an investigating lawmaker said Thursday.
Attorney General Nelly Calderon filed a ``constitutional denunciation'' against Fujimori late Wednesday for the killings of 15 people in a tenement building in Lima. The slayings were allegedly carried out by the Colina death squad run by Vladimiro Montesinos, who was then Peru's spy chief.
Congressman Daniel Estrada, head of a legislative investigative committee, confirmed Calderon was seeking homicide charges against Fujimori.
Calderon told Radioprogramas radio Thursday that she had asked Congress to authorize the prosecution of Fujimori for ``human rights violations.'' She declined to be specific.
Human rights groups say the squad was formed by Montesinos to combat rising attacks by the Shining Path guerrillas. The November 1991 killings were carried out with submachine guns fitted with silencers. The victims were suspected of ties to leftist guerrillas.
Fujimori allegedly went to the National Intelligence Service headquarters ``to celebrate'' with the perpetrators on the day of the massacre, the newspaper El Comercio reported Thursday.
Calderon's report to Congress cited testimony from three former members of the group, who claimed Fujimori knew about their actions.
Calderon alleged Fujimori could have issued orders through Montesinos, who dealt directly with the squad's chief, retired Maj. Santiago Martin Rivas, according to media reports.
As a former president, Fujimori has immunity from prosecution. Estrada's congressional subcommittee must complete its investigation into Fujimori and pass its findings on to the legislature for a vote to lift Fujimori's immunity. If the vote succeeds, Calderon could bring charges against Fujimori to court.
A similar process was used earlier this year to charge Fujimori with abandonment of office and dereliction of duty.
Montesinos was the power broker behind Fujimori, who fled to Japan in November after corruption scandals erupted surrounding his intelligence chief. Montesinos fled in October and remains a fugitive.
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