IACHR urges Peru to not free ex-President Fujimori after pardon restored

LIMA (Reuters) - The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has urged the Peruvian government to not free ex-President Alberto Fujimori after the country's top constitutional court ruled to restore his pardon, in a move likely to snarl efforts for the former leader to leave prison.

Fujimori, 85, is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses and corruption. He received a presidential pardon in 2017, though it has been overturned twice following pressure from the IACHR.

The IACHR has now asked the Peruvian government to send the international court a report by Dec. 6 confirming its decision to not release Fujimori, according to a letter posted by IACHR lawyer Carlos Rivera on his X account Wednesday morning.

Earlier this week, Peru's top constitutional court ruled that a previous decision upholding the pardon was valid. A lower court judge must now confirm the decision to free Fujimori.

Peru's justice ministry said on Wednesday the government was obligated to comply with the ruling in favor of the pardon.

Human rights organizations and relatives of abuse victims criticized the decision.

The former president, who was in power through the 1990s, was convicted of ordering the massacre of 25 people in 1991 and 1992 while his government was fighting against the Shining Path guerrillas.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Richard Chang)