The Facts
After the country's top court granted him a pardon in 2017, former Peruvian Pres. Alberto Fujimori — who had been serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses during his presidency — was freed from Lima's Barbadillo prison on Wednesday.
Despite objections from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Peru's highest court supported an appeal to restore a 2017 pardon for Fujimori — who has served around 16 years after being extradited from Chile in 2007 — on humanitarian grounds.
The Spin
Narrative A
Alberto Fujimori was an authoritarian strongman who abused democracy and committed atrocities in the battle against the Shining Path guerillas. As he remains a highly divisive figure in Peru, Fujimori's comeback undermines Peruvian democracy and will seriously affect the country's rule of law.
Narrative B
Lower courts have repeatedly revoked Alberto Fujimori's 2017 pardon in response to demands from the families of the victims and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. However, considering the 85-year-old's poor health, it is time to show mercy to the man whose efforts and policies once saved the nation from spiraling into catastrophe.
