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Fujimori's Japanese Senate candidacy no bearing on court ruling: Chilean government |
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15:14, June 29, 2007 |
The Chilean government on Thursday said that former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori's decision to run for the Japanese Senate will not affect a Chilean court's ruling on his extradition to Peru.
"Legally, it has no bearing," said Ricardo Lagos Weber, Secretary General of Government, told a press conference.
He said Chile's legal system is independent, and the Supreme Court's rule would be respected.
"If the verdict is extradition he will be extradited," he said.
Speaking at the same press conference, Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley Rioseco said Fujimori's candidacy would not create any kind of immunity from his prosecution.
Also on Thursday, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet told another press conference that the Supreme Court would probably decide soon on the case of Fujimori's extradition.
"Chile's courts will fulfill their role, probably quickly," said Bachelet.
Fujimori, 68, fled to Japan in 2000 after his government collapsed amid corruption scandals. He, the son of Japanese parents, claimed Japanese citizenship on reaching the country and the Japanese government has since ignored repeated extradition requests from Peru where he faces 10 charges of corruption and twoof human rights violations.
The former president, who arrived unexpectedly in November 2005in Chile by a private flight from Japan, has been held under housearrest in the Chicureao neighborhood on the outskirts of Chile's capital Santiago.
Fujimori on Wednesday announced that he had accepted the invitation from the Japanese opposition People's New Party to stand in Japan's upper house election, scheduled for July 29.
His announcement has sparked speculations that he was seeking the immunity as an elected official from the charges in Peru.
Orlando Alvarez, the Chilean Supreme Court judge who heads the Fujimori case, told local daily La Tercera on Thursday that he waslikely to rule on the case before July 29.
His ruling, by law, will be open to appeal by both the prosecution and the defense.
Source: Xinhua
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