Santiago - The Chilean Supreme Court on Friday approved the extradition to Peru of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, on two counts of human rights abuses and five counts of corruption. Fujimori, 69, holds Peruvian and Japanese citizenship and is currently under house arrest in Santiago.
He ruled in Peru from 1990 to 2000, when he fled to Japan to escape a corruption scandal that included bribes to legislators. He was arrested by Chilean authorities in November 2005 after fleeing to Chile as a possible stepping-stone for a new presidential run in Peru.
The Chilean government would proceed to deport Fujimori within 24 hours in an airplane sent by Peru, Chilean Justice Ministry sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Judicial officials said that Fujimori's defence was expected to appeal the court decision in order to delay deportation, although the Supreme Court decision is final.
However, Friday's decision definitively ends the process against Fujimori, who was accused Monday, in a United Nations report, of having stolen 600 million dollars from Peru.
According to the extradition treaty of 1933 between both countries, Peruvian Justice will now only be able to try Fujimori for the alleged crimes that Chilean Justice accepted.
