Thousands protest in Peru against possible pardon of jailed president

LIMA - 8 July 2017: Thousands of Peruvians marched on the streets of Lima on Friday to pressure President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski against pardoning the country’s former leader Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations, the BBC reported on Saturday.

Kuczynski’s promise not to pardon Fujimori during last year’s presidential election helped him scrape together a narrow victory against Fujimori’s daughter, Keiko Fujimori.

But last month the president proposed a potential pardon for Fujimori, aged-78, for health reasons as his finance minister was ousted by Congress, which is dominated by Fujimori’s supporters.

Fujimori has been convicted of leading groups that massacred civilians and kidnapped journalists during his years in office from 1990-2000.