Fujimori seeks pardon in Peru:

Lat/Am

Disgraced Peruvian ex-president Alberto Fujimori, serving a 25-year prison term for corruption and crimes against humanity, has requested a pardon due to ill health.

The 77-year-old has been in and out of the hospital in recent months for a series of health problems.

“Alberto Fujimori has filed a pardon request with the Justice Ministry. It will be processed under due constitutional and legal terms,” council of ministers chief Pedro Cateriano said in a Twitter post.

The reason for the request — his second — was not specified.

He has previously had gastric problems, cataract surgery and five operations for a cancerous growth on his tongue.

Fujimori’s children have asked President Ollanta Humala to grant him a reprieve on health grounds.

But the president rejected the request in 2013, saying medical reports indicated Fujimori’s condition was not sufficiently serious.

Under Peruvian law, granting pardons is a presidential prerogative.

Alberto Fujimori’s latest hospitalization came 12 days after his daughter Keiko narrowly lost Peru’s presidential election to center-right candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. (AFP)