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Fujimori extradited to Peru to face trial

The self-exiled former president is accused of corruption and human rights violations.

LIMA, Peru - Former President Alberto Fujimori was extradited Saturday from Chile to face charges of corruption and sanctioning death-squad killings, a grim homecoming for the strongman who fled Peru seven years ago as his government collapsed in scandal.

After his plane landed in Lima, Peru's former leader was flown by helicopter to a police base, where he will be held until a permanent facility is prepared for his detention.

Fujimori maintains a strong following - a recent poll showed that 23 percent of Peruvians want to see him back in politics - and some fear his return could provoke turmoil in a country emerging from decades of political and economic chaos.

"There will be a sector of the country that will identify with him, and he will play a destabilizing opposition role," said Javier Valle Riestra, a congressman and leader of President Alan Garcia's Aprista party.

Fujimori was widely admired for ushering in economic stability and defeating the Shining Path rebel movement during his 1990-2000 government, but his presidency increasingly came under criticism as it drifted toward authoritarianism and evidence of corruption surfaced.

Fujimori's followers and foes alike were stunned in November 2005 when he landed in Chile and revealed his ambition to run for president in 2006, even though Peru had banned him from seeking public office until 2011. He was promptly arrested.

Fujimori had earned a reputation as a cool-headed strategist in handling multiple crises as president. But he may have miscalculated when he decided to leave his safe refuge in Japan, where he enjoyed immunity from extradition because of his Japanese nationality.

Peru wants to try Fujimori on corruption and human rights charges, including sanctioning the death-squad killings of 25 people.

[Last modified September 23, 2007, 01:29:53]